US memo alleges Chinese spy recruited Singapore executive to gather intel on Nvidia CEO

A memorandum circulated among senior officials in the Trump administration last spring reportedly identified Alice Huang, a Chinese national employed by Singapore-based Megaspeed, as an operative of China’s Ministry of State Security. According to briefed sources, she was tasked with gathering intelligence on Jensen Huang, the chief executive of Nvidia, to learn about U.S. AI chip technology and potentially influence the company’s export decisions.

Jensen Huang, described as an influential ally of President Donald Trump, has been a focal point in the global competition for artificial-intelligence supremacy. Nvidia’s high-performance chips are in demand worldwide, and the firm’s growth has contributed to recent stock-market gains.

The memo, which had not been publicly disclosed before, adds detail to ongoing U.S. concerns about Chinese industrial espionage. On November 5, Republican chairs of three House committees asked Jensen Huang to appear for a closed-door briefing later in the month to discuss his interactions with Alice Huang, who is not related to the Nvidia founder.

The New York Times reported on October 29 that Jensen Huang was a target of a Chinese intelligence operation and that U.S. agencies have been monitoring Alice Huang for at least a year. Nvidia spokesperson John Rizzo said the company does not share classified information with customers and that customers do not request the firm to lobby the U.S. government on chip-sale policies. He described Jensen Huang’s meetings with Alice Huang as “not unusual” and typical of interactions with many customers.

A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy dismissed the Times report as “unsubstantiated” and “nothing but smears against China.”