Report: China allegedly recruited one Huang to spy on the other
The New York Times says Chinese intelligence sought information on Nvidia's chief and potential influence over its push for chip sales to China. Nvidia says the contacts were routine business, while China denies the espionage allegation.
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Nov 7, 06:00 UTC ·
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Follows Report: Trump Shelved China Spy Warning Partly Over Nvidia Sales.
China's main intelligence agency recruited a technology executive to gather information on Nvidia chief Jensen Huang and potentially influence its chip-sales position, according to an unconfirmed New York Times report. [2]
The November 6 report names Alice Huang, a Megaspeed executive, and says a memo circulated among senior Trump administration policymakers last spring cited intelligence that she was an asset, a person working for China's Ministry of State Security. Alice Huang and Jensen Huang are not related. [2]
The alleged operation would connect access to one of the world's most consequential technology executives with the contest over advanced AI chips. Nvidia supplies hardware used to build and run AI systems, and its chief has argued that selling more products to China would support US competitiveness. [3]
A more specific intelligence allegation
The new allegation identifies both an agency and an alleged purpose. According to people briefed on the intelligence who spoke to the Times, the Ministry of State Security recruited Alice Huang to collect information on Jensen Huang and potentially influence Nvidia to press for sales of its most advanced chips to China. The Times says the existence of the administration memo and US officials' assessment that she worked directly for the agency had not previously been reported. [2]
The Daily Inference reported on October 29 that a New York Times investigation said Trump took no action after an intelligence briefing about someone close to Nvidia's chief executive. Nvidia said its customers received no sensitive secrets and disputed allegations involving chip diversion.
The Times' earlier account said US intelligence agencies viewed Alice Huang as a Chinese intelligence asset who had developed a close relationship with Jensen Huang. People briefed on the intelligence spoke anonymously because the findings came from classified material. [1]
No underlying intelligence or memo has been made public to establish the recruitment allegation. What information Alice Huang allegedly supplied, when she allegedly began gathering it and what value it had are unknown, as is whether the alleged effort affected Nvidia's decisions. [2][3]
A photograph offers a narrower, public record of contact. The Times says a photograph on LinkedIn showed Alice Huang, Jensen Huang and other technology executives at an industry party in Taipei in June 2024. That establishes a shared appearance, not an intelligence relationship. [2]
The alleged influence objective matters because it concerns the company's position in a live policy dispute. US restrictions on exports of the most advanced Nvidia chips to China began in 2022, based on national-security concerns and the risk of strengthening China's military capabilities. Jensen Huang has argued for greater access to the Chinese market on competitiveness grounds. [3]
That commercial argument cannot itself establish foreign influence. Evidence of an intelligence operation would have to connect alleged recruitment to conduct, rather than infer it from a sales position Nvidia has defended publicly.
Nvidia disputes the threat
Nvidia spokesperson John Rizzo said Jensen Huang's interactions with Alice Huang were not unusual and that meeting customers was part of a chief executive's job. He said regional cloud customers received ordinary business information, not sensitive trade secrets or national-security information. [3][4]
The company also told CNBC that the US government had not briefed it about Alice Huang. Nvidia said it expected the government to notify it if someone posed a threat to American industry. [5]
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun rejected the allegations as groundless speculation and an attempt to smear China. Megaspeed told the BBC that its current leadership took the allegations seriously, had appointed outside legal advisers for an internal investigation and had informed the US government of its willingness to cooperate. Alice Huang did not respond to the BBC's request for comment. [3]
A separate suspicion concerns whether Megaspeed helped Chinese customers obtain restricted Nvidia chips. The Times reported that US officials suspected Alice Huang of helping China evade restrictions. Nvidia says allegations that Megaspeed diverted or smuggled chips were investigated and debunked.
That is the company's account, not an independently established finding. [1][3][5]
Congress seeks answers behind closed doors
The House request brings the dispute into congressional oversight. On November 5, Republican leaders of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Select Committee on China and the Intelligence Committee invited Jensen Huang to a joint, closed-door briefing on November 18 to discuss both his contacts and Nvidia's protections against espionage. His attendance has not been confirmed. [4]
Their letter said recent reports raised national-security concerns about China's access to sensitive US technology and information. Congress, the lawmakers said, needed to determine whether US national security had been put at risk. The request seeks answers, it does not establish the allegation. [4]
The proposed briefing's closed-door format would leave lawmakers to decide what they can disclose afterward. Megaspeed's internal investigation is the other announced effort to examine the allegations. Neither process has yet produced public findings. [3][4]
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- Nvidia Chief, Jensen Huang, Is Seen as Target of Chinese Spy Plot - The New York Times nytimes.com
- China's Top Spy Agency Recruited Woman Who Targeted Jensen Huang - The New York Times nytimes.com
- China denies allegations of spy operation targeting Nvidia CEO bbc.com
- Nvidia's Huang asked to brief Congress on Chinese spy report cnbc.com
- Nvidia responds to accusations that Jensen Huang was Chinese target cnbc.com