New York; Washington: US intelligence agencies have concluded that a Chinese businesswoman who developed a close relationship with Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang was a Chinese intelligence asset who funnelled information to Beijing, according to a report by The New York Times. China has dismissed the allegations as a smear.
The woman, identified as Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, is a Chinese national and senior executive at Singapore-based data centre company Megaspeed. The company buys Nvidia processors to build data centres and leases computing capacity to businesses operating in China.
The New York Times reported that US surveillance revealed that Alice Huang had developed a close association with Jensen Huang. US investigators suspected that she was helping China circumvent restrictions on access to advanced artificial intelligence chips.
The findings raised concerns in Washington about whether she could have gained insights into US President Donald Trump's thinking on an issue central to US-China relations, or obtained information about Nvidia.
Trump was briefed on the intelligence findings roughly a year ago but chose not to act, the report said. He was reportedly wary of disrupting Nvidia's chip sales, which support economic growth and equity markets, and of adding further friction to commercial ties with Beijing.
The US government has been investigating Megaspeed since late 2024 over suspicions that it was helping China access advanced Nvidia chips through data centres in Southeast Asia. Investigators suspect that some of the processors acquired by the company were also being illegally diverted to China. Megaspeed has purchased Nvidia chips to build data centres and rent computing capacity to Chinese companies, including Alibaba.
According to trade records cited by The New York Times, Megaspeed's sister company in Malaysia purchased at least USD 4.8 billion worth of advanced artificial intelligence equipment containing Nvidia chips and technology between June 2024 and February 2026.
The US Commerce Department's investigation into Megaspeed was transferred to the Justice Department this year, the report said. Singaporean authorities also questioned Alice Huang in 2025 as part of their investigation into the company before releasing her.
The report said Jensen Huang had not received a defensive briefing about the alleged Chinese intelligence activity. It also noted that surveillance targeting Alice Huang continued and that businesses previously linked to her had continued procuring Nvidia chips during the current year.
The allegations have raised questions about Nvidia's relationship with Megaspeed and the company's access to its products. Nvidia said it had previously investigated and dismissed claims that the Singapore-based firm was involved in smuggling chips to China.
An Nvidia spokesperson told The New York Times that Megaspeed was like any other regional customer. The spokesperson also said Jensen Huang's interactions with Alice Huang were not unusual, adding: "Meetings with customers are part of a CEO's job; Jensen talks with thousands of customer executives every year."
The company said customers such as Megaspeed received ordinary business information, not sensitive Nvidia trade secrets or information relevant to national security.
Nvidia has also been at the centre of discussions over US restrictions on chip exports to China. During Trump's second term, Jensen Huang lobbied the administration to reverse stricter export controls on the company's chip shipments to China. He also reached an agreement with Trump allowing the US government to secure a 25 per cent stake in certain Nvidia processors approved for sale to China.
As the administration considered a broader ban on Nvidia chip exports to China, Huang and his spouse travelled to Mar-a-Lago to persuade Trump to allow technology companies to continue doing business with Beijing.
Nvidia subsequently contributed more than USD 20 million towards Trump's ballroom fund, according to an individual familiar with the matter. The company also committed to spending USD 500 billion on manufacturing infrastructure in the US.
Megaspeed initially told The New York Times that its current leadership treated the allegations "extremely seriously" and had retained outside counsel to conduct an internal investigation. It later said it "cannot respond to a media trial and welcomes formal, evidence-based investigation".
Nvidia and Megaspeed continued doing business during the current year, with Megaspeed remaining listed on Nvidia's website as a cloud partner. The report said the company and its affiliates continued purchasing Nvidia products, often through intermediaries.
The White House, the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency declined to comment. Alice Huang did not respond to requests for comment.
Liu Chang, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, described the allegations as a campaign of "groundless smears and slanders" against Beijing.
On Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun, quoted by the state-run Global Times, said the report was "groundless and was nothing but a smear against China".
(With inputs from ANI & PTI)
