NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang: China Reportedly Recruited Megaspeed Executive

A US intelligence memo says China's Ministry of State Security recruited Megaspeed executive Alice Huang to gather information on Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, according to reports published on Nov. 7 by TechCrunch and Engadget, which cite the New York Times and the Financial Times.

The memo has not been published, and the allegations are unproven. TechCrunch said the document circulated earlier this year and that the New York Times was first to report on it. Engadget, summarizing the Times, said the ministry is China's main civilian intelligence agency and that her recruitment was part of Beijing's effort to learn about US artificial intelligence plans.

Our earlier report on the Megaspeed story covered the New York Times account of Oct. 29: US agencies had watched Alice Huang, who also goes by Huang Le, for about a year and suspected she was a Chinese spy. That account did not say which Chinese body was behind her. The memo reports now name the Ministry of State Security.

What the memo reports add

Engadget, citing the Times, reported that Beijing was also hoping she could influence Jensen Huang to push the US government to allow shipments of more advanced chips to China. The Financial Times reported that Donald Trump and select officials were told of the memo before his Beijing trip earlier this year, according to Engadget. Engadget added that the president reportedly took no action and that Jensen Huang was not briefed that he was a target.

Engadget also reported, citing the Financial Times, that Megaspeed built data centers in Southeast Asia and rented the computing power to Alibaba, and that it was implicated in a scheme to smuggle advanced AI chips into China. The Financial Times said Nvidia's internal investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing, according to Engadget.

What Nvidia and others say

An Nvidia spokesperson told the Times that Jensen Huang's interactions with Alice Huang were "not unusual", according to TechCrunch. The company also said it does not share classified information with customers. In its Oct. 29 statement to TechCrunch, Nvidia said its regional cloud customers receive ordinary business information and nothing relevant to national security.

Neither TechCrunch nor Engadget carried a response from Megaspeed or Alice Huang. A Stocktwits report on Yahoo said she could not be reached for comment. China's foreign ministry rejected the earlier Times report as groundless, as we reported.

Why it matters for chip exports

The consequence is for export policy, not for chip supply. The memo reports tie the allegation to Jensen Huang's lobbying for China sales of the H200 accelerator, which the Financial Times said he pursued with Trump, according to the Stocktwits report on Yahoo. That report said national security officials have criticized the lobbying.

The same report said senior House Republicans, who chair the China, foreign affairs and intelligence committees, asked Huang to appear privately before them. They want to question him about the Times report and Nvidia's security protocols. The request does not itself accuse him of wrongdoing, according to the reports we read. Separately, as Voltgrid reported, Trump said the US would check the Times report closely.

What is not confirmed yet

The memo's text, its date and the identities of its sources are unknown. No charges have been announced. Alice Huang has not publicly responded, and Megaspeed's reply is not in the reports we read. Whether Huang accepts the congressional request is the next thing to watch.