US officials say Nvidia CEO linked to Chinese intelligence operative

U.S. intelligence officials informed the Trump administration that Alice Huang, an executive with Singapore-based Megaspeed International, was allegedly employed by Beijing's Ministry of State Security and was recruited to gather information on Nvidia Corp. chief executive Jensen Huang, the New York Times reported on Friday. The newspaper said the allegation came from unnamed sources who were aware of surveillance on Alice Huang and that the claim was outlined in an intelligence memo.

According to the Times, the Chinese agency sought details about American artificial-intelligence chips and may have tried to persuade Nvidia to make its most advanced semiconductors available to China. The Financial Times added that U.S. officials believe the relationship between Jensen Huang and Alice Huang was romantic, though the exact timing of their meeting was not disclosed.

The House Select Committee on China said it had sent a letter to Jensen Huang requesting his participation in a closed-door briefing, citing concerns about his interactions with the Megaspeed executive, whom the panel described as a publicly reported Chinese intelligence asset.

Megaspeed is part of Nvidia's cloud partner network, purchasing equipment from the chipmaker and renting computing power to AI developers. Nvidia responded that its cloud partners do not ask the company to seek changes in U.S. law or advocate for sales to China, and that any attempt to obtain classified information through its customers would be blocked. The company said it neither possesses nor shares classified information with customers.

When asked about the Financial Times report, Nvidia referred to earlier comments by Jensen Huang that his relationship with Alice Huang was a typical business one. The Central Intelligence Agency and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not immediately respond to requests for comment.