United States intelligence officials believe China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) recruited Megaspeed executive Alice Huang to gather intelligence on Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, according to reporting from The New York Times and the Financial Times. The alleged goal was to obtain information about American AI chips and, according to the NYT, "potentially influence the company to push for its most advanced chips to be made available to China."
The revelation escalates an already tense story. The NYT previously reported that Jensen Huang was the target of a "Chinese spy plot," but the claim that the MSS directly recruited Alice Huang is new. The two are not related, and their relationship has been described as "close." Three House committees have now asked Jensen Huang to appear for a joint, closed-door briefing on his interactions with Alice Huang.
What the reports allege
According to The Verge, citing the NYT, Alice Huang is an executive at Megaspeed, a customer of Nvidia. She is also said to have relationships with executives at the highest levels of the AI chip industry, including leaders at Gigabyte. The MSS allegedly enlisted her to glean information about American AI chips and to potentially influence Nvidia's stance on exporting its most advanced chips to China.
The Financial Times, as summarized by Techmeme, reports that US officials believe Jensen Huang had a romantic relationship with Alice Huang. The NYT describes their relationship as "close" without confirming that characterization. President Trump, who is friendly with Jensen Huang, was briefed last year about the relationship but did not take action, according to the NYT.
Jensen Huang, Nvidia and the China question
The allegations land at a sensitive moment for Nvidia, whose AI chips sit at the center of US-China tech tensions. Washington has tightened export controls on advanced semiconductors, while Beijing has pushed back against restrictions. Any suggestion that a foreign intelligence service tried to influence Nvidia's chip-export decisions will draw intense scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators.
