Us Investigated Alleged Chinese Spy Plot Targeting Nvidia Ceo
US intelligence surveilled a Megaspeed executive over suspected ties to Chinese intelligence and her contact with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, according to reports citing The New York Times.
US intelligence agencies investigated whether a Chinese intelligence operative was seeking information from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, according to Engadget and TechCrunch, both citing a New York Times report. The inquiry centered on Alice Huang, an executive at Singapore-based AI cloud company Megaspeed who had contact with the Nvidia chief. The reports describe an alleged espionage effort, not a publicly established case of information being passed to Beijing.
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Why investigators focused on Alice Huang
US agencies surveilled Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, to examine her ties to China, TechCrunch reported. Engadget said the surveillance revealed contact with an American citizen later identified as Jensen Huang. The two share a surname but are not related, according to Engadget.
The outlets characterize the intelligence assessment differently. Engadget reported that US spy agencies concluded Alice Huang was a Chinese intelligence asset passing information to Beijing. TechCrunch said anonymous sources described her as a person who could have been a Chinese spy. Engadget also noted that the reporting did not identify any information she may have passed to Beijing.
TechCrunch said investigators were concerned Alice Huang had become close enough to the CEO to learn about Nvidia’s plans and his efforts to persuade the Trump administration to permit shipments of more advanced technology to China. She appeared alongside Jensen Huang and other people at business dinners in the Singapore region, the outlet reported.
Chip sales and Nvidia’s response
The intelligence inquiry came amid separate scrutiny of Megaspeed’s chip business. According to TechCrunch, the Times reported in 2025 that the Commerce Department had investigated whether Megaspeed helped Chinese companies evade US AI-chip export restrictions by reselling restricted Nvidia chips. Engadget reported that Megaspeed’s Malaysian sister company bought at least $4.8 billion in Nvidia-based equipment in less than two years—an unusually large amount of business for a small company, as described by the Times.
Nvidia disputed the suggestion that its CEO’s contact with Alice Huang was unusual. A company spokesperson told TechCrunch that Jensen Huang meets many customer executives and that regional cloud customers receive ordinary business information, not sensitive Nvidia trade secrets or national-security information.
Questions about the US response
Engadget reported that President Trump was briefed on the matter about a year before its October 2026 report and chose not to act. It also said Jensen Huang had not received a defensive briefing, a warning sometimes given to Americans targeted by foreign intelligence services.
The reason for that reported decision remains unclear. Engadget, citing the Times, said officials may have been concerned that warning Jensen Huang would alert Alice Huang, who was reportedly still under surveillance. It also noted Trump’s reluctance to disrupt Nvidia’s chip sales or further complicate trade with China. Neither report establishes why a briefing was not given.
Sources
This story was compiled by AI from the reports below. Read the originals for the full details.