US intelligence: Jensen Huang had affair with Chinese spy; linked to smuggling

U.S. intelligence officials reportedly suspect that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had a romantic relationship with Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, whom they believe may have been recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security in a “honeypot” operation. The alleged aim was to help Chinese companies obtain restricted AI chips or gain access to industry information. Alice Huang was a senior executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed, whose subsidiary Speedmatrix is accused of smuggling about $2 billion in AI chips into China. The company’s network of business ties and its ability to place large Nvidia-chip orders have drawn scrutiny.

Questions also surround Alice Huang’s background: claims that she worked for Chinese broadcasters are disputed, and her path from finance into Megaspeed’s business network is unclear. She was photographed socializing with Huang and other technology executives after Megaspeed’s large order, and later appeared in a photo as he left a Taiwan restaurant. Nvidia denies that Huang shared sensitive company or national-security information, saying he meets many customer executives and discusses ordinary business matters. Beijing has called the espionage allegations baseless. The case is presented amid broader concern that Chinese intelligence may use business contacts or romantic relationships to reach U.S. technology talent and networks.