A New York Times report says US intelligence had been aware for more than a year of activities by a Singapore-based executive with close business ties to Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang; multiple sources claimed she was apparently passing information to Beijing as a Chinese intelligence asset. Officials briefed President Donald Trump, who reportedly chose not to act, apparently because he did not want to affect Nvidia sales or antagonize China.
Identified in the report as Alice Huang, also referred to as Huang Le, she is the managing director of Megaspeed, an Nvidia cloud partner that builds data centers and rents computing power to Chinese firms including Alibaba. The company was accused last year of helping smuggle $2 billion worth of Nvidia chips. The investigation began after US Commerce Department officials visited Megaspeed's data center in Malaysia and found Nvidia equipment still packed in boxes, raising suspicion that the machines might either have just been shipped in or be about to be shipped out rather than installed.
The report says Ms. Huang was photographed with Mr. Huang on several occasions. A LinkedIn post by NetThunder around Computex 2024 showed her seated beside him at an informal event, identifying her as Megaspeed chairwoman Alice Wong, and about a year later, around Computex 2025, she was seen with him leaving a restaurant in Taipei alongside other business associates.
An Nvidia spokesperson told Tom's Hardware that Megaspeed 'has been no different than many other regional cloud customers' and that Mr. Huang's interactions with Ms. Huang were 'not unusual or unexpected,' since meetings with customers are part of a CEO's job. 'Our regional cloud customers receive ordinary business information, not sensitive NVIDIA trade secrets, and zero information relevant to national security,' the spokesperson said. Nvidia said it was confident that if the US government believed any person was a threat to American industry, it would let the company know, and that Nvidia receives updates from the government about parties and entities of concern.
The Chinese embassy in Washington denied the allegations, calling them 'groundless smears and slanders' against China.
According to the report, the president reportedly chose not to act because he apparently did not want to affect Nvidia sales or antagonize China. The possibility that Chinese intelligence is targeting a senior figure close to President Trump has reportedly troubled some US officials. Sources cited in the report said Mr. Huang had not yet been given a defensive briefing, a warning US counterintelligence agencies sometimes give to American citizens targeted by foreign intelligence services, even though surveillance of Ms. Huang continues; the report speculates it is possible this was done to avoid alerting her. US officials do not believe Mr. Huang is aware of Ms. Huang's alleged activities, the report said.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The suspected asset was the managing director of Megaspeed, an Nvidia cloud partner accused of moving Nvidia GPUs into China, a country whose access to advanced AI chips Washington restricts.
- President Trump's reported decision not to act on the intelligence briefing highlights the tension between protecting Nvidia's China sales and countering Chinese espionage.
- The report places Nvidia's dealings with regional cloud partners under fresh scrutiny.
Background
The United States restricts exports of advanced AI chips to China on national security grounds, and Nvidia, the dominant maker of AI processors, sits at the center of that policy. Jensen Huang, Nvidia's co-founder and chief executive, has become one of the most visible figures of the global AI boom.
Key Perspectives
- The New York Times report: says US intelligence monitored Ms. Huang for more than a year, briefed President Trump, and does not believe Mr. Huang was aware of her alleged intelligence activities.
- President Trump (as reported): chose not to act on the briefing, apparently to avoid affecting Nvidia sales or antagonizing China.
- Nvidia: says Megaspeed was a typical regional cloud customer, that Mr. Huang's interactions with the executive were routine, and that regional customers receive ordinary business information, not trade secrets or national-security material.
- Chinese embassy in Washington: denies the allegations, calling them 'groundless smears and slanders' against China.
- Some US officials (as reported): are troubled by the possibility that Beijing is targeting senior figures close to the president.
What to Watch
- Whether Mr. Huang is given a defensive briefing, which the report says he has not yet received even as surveillance of Ms. Huang continues.
- Whether the Commerce Department investigation into Megaspeed leads to enforcement action over the alleged $2 billion in chip smuggling.
- Whether further reporting reveals what first drew US intelligence attention to Ms. Huang.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedUS intelligence briefed President Trump about a suspected Chinese intelligence asset tied to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, the report says.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “According to The New York Times, U.S. intelligence has been aware of her activities for over a year already and has even briefed President Donald Trump on the situation.”
- SupportedThe report says US intelligence had known of the executive’s activities for more than a year and had briefed Trump.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “U.S. intelligence has been aware of her activities for over a year already and has even briefed President Donald Trump on the situation.”
- SupportedMultiple sources claimed she was apparently passing information to Beijing as a Chinese intelligence asset.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Multiple sources claim that a top executive at a Singapore AI firm suspected of steering Nvidia AI GPUs to China and who has close business ties with Jensen Huang was apparently passing information to Beijing as a Chinese intelligence asset.”
- SupportedTrump reportedly chose not to act because he apparently did not want to affect Nvidia sales or antagonize China.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Trump reportedly chose not to do anything about the information, as he apparently did not want to affect Nvidia sales or antagonize China.”
- SupportedThe executive is identified as Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, and listed as Megaspeed’s managing director.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “The suspect, Alice Huang or Huang Le, was listed as the managing director of Singaporean AI firm Megaspeed”
- SupportedMegaspeed is an Nvidia cloud partner that builds data centres and rents computing power to Chinese firms including Alibaba.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Megaspeed, an Nvidia cloud partner that builds data centers and rents out the compute to Chinese firms like Alibaba.”
- SupportedMegaspeed was accused last year of helping smuggle $2 billion worth of Nvidia chips.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Megaspeed was accused of helping smuggle $2 billion worth of Nvidia chips last year.”
- SupportedThe investigation began after Commerce Department officials visited Megaspeed’s Malaysia data centre, found Nvidia equipment still boxed, and suspected it had just arrived or might be shipped out instead of installed.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “The investigation into the firm began when the U.S. Commerce Department visited the firm’s Malaysia data center and found the Nvidia equipment that it ordered still packed in boxes. This raised suspicion that the machines were either just shipped in or about to be shipped out, instead of being installed on the site.”
- SupportedAn Nvidia spokesperson told Tom’s Hardware that Megaspeed was no different from other regional cloud customers and Jensen Huang’s interactions with Ms. Huang were not unusual or unexpected.Latest from Tom's Hardware: ““Megaspeed has been no different than many other regional cloud customers. 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,” an Nvidia spokesperson told Tom's Hardware.”
- SupportedThe Nvidia spokesperson said regional cloud customers receive ordinary business information, not sensitive trade secrets or information relevant to national security.Latest from Tom's Hardware: ““Our regional cloud customers receive ordinary business information — not sensitive NVIDIA trade secrets — and zero information relevant to national security."”
- SupportedChina’s Washington embassy denied the allegations, calling them “groundless smears and slanders” against China.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “The Chinese embassy in Washington denied the allegations, saying that it was merely “groundless smears and slanders” against China.”
- SupportedSources said Jensen Huang had not received a defensive briefing despite continued surveillance of Alice Huang; the report speculates this may have been to avoid alerting her.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Sources cited in the report claimed that Mr. Huang hasn’t yet been given a defensive briefing ... even though the surveillance against Alice Huang continues. The report speculates it is possible this was done to avoid alerting Alice Huang”
