Washington: US officials believe that Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman who had a close relationship with Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, was gathering intelligence for Beijing, according to a report by The New York Times. The report also says US President Donald Trump was briefed about the intelligence findings roughly a year ago but did not take action.
The allegations have drawn attention to the intersection of artificial intelligence, semiconductor exports and national security, as Washington continues to scrutinise China’s access to advanced computing technology.
Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, was an executive associated with Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data centre company that has been investigated over suspected efforts to help Chinese businesses access advanced Nvidia chips. She is not related to Nvidia’s chief executive, despite sharing his surname.
The report, based on interviews with people briefed on classified intelligence and other sources, does not establish that Jensen Huang knowingly participated in any intelligence-gathering activity. Nvidia has defended its chief executive’s interactions with the businesswoman and said its customers do not receive sensitive trade secrets or national security information.
Who is Alice Huang?
Alice Huang came under US scrutiny through an investigation into Megaspeed’s business activities and its possible role in helping Chinese companies access advanced artificial intelligence computing resources.
According to The New York Times, US officials concluded that she was a Chinese intelligence asset who had been passing information to Beijing. Surveillance reportedly revealed her close contacts with Jensen Huang, prompting concerns about whether she could gain access to information about Nvidia or US policy on semiconductor exports.
The newspaper’s reporting does not publicly establish precisely what information Alice Huang allegedly passed to China, how it was obtained or what value it may have had to Beijing. It also remains unclear when her alleged intelligence-gathering activity began.
The report says Alice Huang did not respond to requests for comment. It is also unclear how closely she remains connected to Megaspeed. A person familiar with the company’s operations told the newspaper that her involvement had diminished following the US investigations.
Jensen Huang’s relationship with the businesswoman
The report describes interactions between Alice Huang and Jensen Huang at industry gatherings in Taiwan.
Photographs posted on LinkedIn showed the two at a Taipei bar in June 2024, following a technology trade show. They were also reportedly seen together after a business dinner in Taipei in May 2025.
US officials were concerned that the relationship could potentially have provided Alice Huang with access to information about Nvidia or insights into the Trump administration’s thinking on AI chip exports.
However, the report does not establish that Jensen Huang knew of the alleged intelligence activity. According to The New York Times, officials did not believe he was aware of it when Trump was initially briefed. The report also says Jensen Huang had not received a formal intelligence warning, sometimes known as a defensive briefing, about being targeted by a foreign intelligence service.
Nvidia rejected the suggestion that the interactions were unusual. Company spokesperson John Rizzo said meetings with customers were part of a chief executive’s responsibilities and that Jensen Huang spoke with thousands of customer executives each year.
The company also said customers such as Megaspeed received ordinary business information rather than sensitive Nvidia trade secrets or information relevant to national security.
Trump was briefed but reportedly took no action
One of the most politically significant aspects of the report is its account of the intelligence briefing provided to Trump.
According to The New York Times, the US president was informed about the findings approximately a year before the report was published but chose not to act on them.
The newspaper, citing people familiar with the classified intelligence, said Trump was wary of disrupting Nvidia’s chip sales and complicating trade relations with China.
The report does not establish that the decision was made solely for commercial reasons. The White House, the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency declined to comment to the newspaper.
The allegations also come against the backdrop of Jensen Huang’s engagement with the Trump administration on semiconductor policy. Nvidia has argued for allowing US chipmakers to sell certain products to Chinese customers, while US officials continue to debate how to balance commercial interests with national security concerns.
Megaspeed’s Nvidia chip business under scrutiny
The reported intelligence concerns are linked to a separate investigation into Megaspeed’s business relationships and its possible role in helping Chinese companies obtain access to advanced Nvidia computing hardware.
The US Commerce Department began investigating the company in late 2024, according to the newspaper’s reporting. A visit to a data centre in Malaysia reportedly raised questions after investigators found Nvidia equipment still packed in boxes rather than installed at the site.
The concern was that the company might be helping Chinese businesses circumvent US restrictions on advanced AI chips. The investigation was subsequently transferred to the Justice Department, according to officials cited in the report.
Megaspeed operates as an intermediary in Southeast Asia, purchasing Nvidia hardware for data centres and providing computing capacity to companies in China, including Alibaba, according to the reporting. US officials suspect that some chips acquired through the network may have been diverted illegally, although the public information does not establish that every transaction or purchase was unlawful.
Trade records cited by The New York Times showed that Megaspeed’s Malaysian affiliate bought at least US$4.8 billion worth of AI equipment containing Nvidia chips between June 2024 and February 2026. The company and its affiliates reportedly continued buying Nvidia products during 2026.
The earlier investigation into possible export-control violations and the latest intelligence allegations are related in the reporting, but they are not identical claims. The first concerns how advanced chips and computing capacity may have reached Chinese customers; the second concerns the alleged transfer of intelligence to Beijing.
What Nvidia and Megaspeed have said
Nvidia has maintained that it complies with US law and said it had previously investigated and rejected claims that Megaspeed was smuggling chips into China.
The company has also defended Jensen Huang’s contact with Alice Huang, describing their interactions as ordinary business dealings. Nvidia said its customers do not receive sensitive trade secrets or national security-related information.
Megaspeed, meanwhile, said its current leadership took the allegations seriously and had retained outside counsel to conduct an internal investigation. The company also said it had notified the US government of its willingness to cooperate.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington rejected the allegations. Its spokesperson described the US claims as “groundless smears and slanders”, according to the report.
Alice Huang herself had not publicly responded to the newspaper’s requests for comment at the time of publication. The White House and the US intelligence agencies also declined to comment.
Why the case matters for AI chip export controls
The allegations come amid a broader US effort to restrict China’s access to the most advanced semiconductor technology.
High-performance Nvidia chips are central to training and running sophisticated AI models. Washington has imposed restrictions on exports of advanced processors to China, citing national security concerns and the potential military applications of advanced computing.
However, companies can also establish data centres outside China and sell computing capacity to Chinese customers. This creates a complicated regulatory question: even if the physical chips remain in another country, their computing power may still be accessible to businesses in China.
US officials and lawmakers have raised concerns about this model, while technology companies have argued that legitimate international sales and cloud-computing arrangements should not automatically be treated as violations.
The Megaspeed investigation illustrates the difficulty of enforcing export restrictions through complex international supply chains involving chipmakers, intermediaries, data centre operators and cloud customers.
The case could add to scrutiny of how companies assess customers, verify the location and use of their hardware, and monitor potential diversion after a sale.
What remains unconfirmed?
Despite the seriousness of the allegations, several important questions remain unanswered publicly.
The available reporting does not specify exactly what intelligence Alice Huang allegedly passed to Beijing, what evidence led US officials to their conclusion or whether the allegations will result in criminal charges.
It also does not establish that Jensen Huang knowingly assisted an intelligence operation or shared confidential information. Nvidia has explicitly disputed the implication that his interactions with Alice Huang were unusual or involved the disclosure of sensitive material.
Similarly, the investigation into Megaspeed’s chip business does not establish that all its purchases or transactions were illegal. The central question for investigators is whether any hardware or computing resources were transferred or made available in violation of applicable US restrictions.
The allegations, company responses and ongoing investigations must therefore be considered separately from any eventual legal findings.
A developing story at the intersection of technology and security
The reported intelligence assessment involving Alice Huang has brought a new dimension to the scrutiny of Nvidia’s international business and its chief executive’s contacts.
For the US government, the case raises questions about intelligence risks, the enforcement of semiconductor export controls and the potential use of international data centre networks to provide China with advanced computing resources.
For Nvidia, it adds to an existing debate over how the company can serve global customers while complying with restrictions imposed for national security reasons.
Trump’s reported decision not to act on the briefing has also raised questions about how the administration weighs intelligence concerns against commercial and diplomatic considerations. The reasons for that decision have not been independently established beyond the account provided by sources to The New York Times.
For now, the allegations against Alice Huang remain a matter of intelligence reporting and investigation. The public record does not establish wrongdoing by Jensen Huang, and the full scope of the suspected intelligence activity remains unclear.