Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang targeted in alleged Chinese espionage plot: Report

US intelligence scrutinised Jensen Huang's interactions with Alice Huang, a suspected Chinese asset. The contact raised concerns over possible access to sensitive AI chip and policy information.Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang targeted in alleged Chinese spy plot. (File Photo: Reuters)Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang's interactions with a Chinese businesswoman suspected of working for Beijing have raised concerns among US intelligence officials about whether China could have gained access to sensitive information at the heart of America's artificial intelligence race.The woman, Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, is a Chinese national and a former senior executive at Singapore-based data centre company Megaspeed. According to a report by The New York Times, US intelligence agencies concluded that she was acting as an asset for Chinese intelligence while investigating allegations that Megaspeed was helping Chinese companies obtain advanced Nvidia AI chips.The investigation took a more sensitive turn when surveillance revealed that she had developed a close relationship with Jensen Huang, one of the most influential executives in the global AI industry and a prominent business figure with access to US President Donald Trump.According to the report, Trump was briefed on the intelligence findings about a year ago but chose not to act on them. The US President has been reluctant to disrupt Nvidia's chip sales, which have significant implications for the US economy and stock market, or further strain trade relations with China. The findings have not previously been reported in full, the report claimed, based on interviews with people briefed on the surveillance, government officials, industry executives and analysts.CONCERNS OVER ACCESS TO NVIDIA CEOThe intelligence raised questions about whether Beijing could have gained insights into Trump's thinking on advanced chip exports to China, an issue expected to feature prominently in US-China relations. It also prompted concerns about whether information obtained through Huang's interactions with the businesswoman could have helped China understand Nvidia's operations. The company is central to America's lead in developing advanced AI systems. According to people briefed on the surveillance, Jensen Huang has not received a defensive briefing and a warning that US authorities sometimes give Americans who may be targeted by foreign intelligence services.The surveillance of Alice Huang is continuing. Companies affiliated with Megaspeed have also continued purchasing Nvidia products this year.Nvidia has defended its interactions with Megaspeed, saying the company was treated like any other regional customer."Jensen's interactions with Ms. Huang are not unusual or unexpected. Meetings with customers are part of a CEO's job; Jensen talks with thousands of customer executives every year," John Rizzo, an Nvidia spokesman, told the NYT.Rizzo said Nvidia was "confident that if the US government believes that any person is a threat to American industry, it would let us know".Customers such as Megaspeed, he added, "receive ordinary business information -- not sensitive Nvidia trade secrets — and zero information relevant to national security".US PROBE INTO MEGASPEED AND CHIP EXPORTSThe investigation into Megaspeed dates back to late 2024, when a US Commerce Department official visited a data centre operated by the company in Malaysia and found circumstances that raised suspicions. Nvidia equipment remained packed in boxes, suggesting it was being shipped in or out rather than installed at the facility, according to the NYT.The company had already attracted scrutiny over whether it was helping Chinese businesses circumvent US restrictions on advanced AI chips. Singaporean authorities also questioned Alice Huang in 2025 before releasing her. The Commerce Department's investigation was transferred to the Justice Department this year, administration officials told the newspaper.Megaspeed operates as an intermediary, buying Nvidia-powered computing equipment and renting data centre capacity to Chinese businesses, including Alibaba. US officials suspect that some chips acquired through the company's network may have been diverted illegally into China.The NYT reported that Megaspeed's sister company in Malaysia purchased at least USD 4.8 billion worth of advanced AI equipment containing Nvidia chips and technology between June 2024 and February 2026, according to trade records obtained from ImportGenius.Despite the scrutiny, Megaspeed and its affiliates continued buying Nvidia products, often through intermediaries. Nvidia also continued listing Megaspeed as a cloud partner, while the company maintained its business with Alibaba, according to the report.HOW THE CONNECTION EMERGEDPhotographs posted on LinkedIn showed Jensen Huang and Alice Huang together at a bar in Taipei in June 2024, following a technology trade show. They were seen together again in May 2025, leaving a restaurant after a business dinner with other AI suppliers.The intelligence findings concerning her alleged links to Beijing, however, remained closely held within the US administration. According to people familiar with the surveillance, US intelligence agencies intercepted communications involving Alice Huang and an American citizen. A process known as unmasking subsequently identified the American as Jensen Huang.US intelligence agencies face legal restrictions on directly surveilling American citizens. However, an American's identity may be disclosed through the unmasking process when their communications are incidentally collected during authorised surveillance of a foreign target.TRUMP'S TIES WITH NVIDIA CHIEFThe allegations have added a sensitive dimension to the debate over US restrictions on advanced AI chips. Jensen Huang has lobbied the Trump administration to ease export controls and allow Nvidia to sell more of its products to China. During Trump's second term, the Nvidia chief negotiated an arrangement under which the US government would receive a 25 per cent share of revenue from certain chip sales permitted to China.The close relationship between Trump and Huang has complicated efforts to tighten restrictions on Nvidia's overseas sales. Current and former US officials said some investigations and proposed trade sanctions involving China or Nvidia had stalled within the Commerce Department.Before 2025, Huang rarely visited Washington and largely stayed out of politics. However, as the administration considered restricting Nvidia chip sales to China, he and his wife visited Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida to make the case for allowing American chipmakers to continue doing business with Beijing.Nvidia subsequently donated at least USD 20 million to Trump's ballroom fund, according to the report, while the company pledged to invest USD 500 billion in US manufacturing. Huang was also seated at the head table during a White House state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping last month.Trump approved sales of an older generation of Nvidia chips to China last year in exchange for a share of the revenue. His administration later considered allowing the sale of more powerful technology but ultimately decided against it.Meanwhile, the Trump administration has rolled back restrictions introduced under former President Joe Biden that sought to limit arrangements through which companies in Southeast Asia bought advanced chips and rented computing capacity to Chinese firms. Officials are now weighing whether to tighten those rules again.- Ends