Jensen Huang’s affair with alleged Chinese spy puts Nvidia’s China ambitions under scrutiny

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has admitted to an affair with Alice Huang, a former executive at Nvidia customer Megaspeed, whom U.S. intelligence officials suspect was recruited by Chinese intelligence. According to TechCrunch, the Financial Times first reported the relationship on Friday, and Huang apologized in a company memo on Sunday. Officials believe she was tasked with gathering information on the CEO and swaying Nvidia's push to ease chip export restrictions. Nvidia's independent directors are investigating with outside legal counsel, Congress is seeking answers, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly warned people close to President Trump about the relationship earlier this year.

The timing is awkward for Nvidia. China was once a major market but has shrunk under U.S. export controls and Beijing's push for homegrown chips. In the quarter ended July 26, customers headquartered in China brought in $7.9 billion, about 8% of revenue. Huang has lobbied hard for access, meeting repeatedly with Trump and officials last year, after which restrictions on H20 chips were reversed and H200 exports were allowed. He has called export controls a "failure" and warned that excluding Nvidia would accelerate rival Chinese chipmakers. Reuters reported roughly 600,000 H200 chips are sitting in Hong Kong awaiting shipment to the mainland.

TechCrunch's Rebecca Bellan argues it is a stretch to think Huang needed persuading, since his lobbying predates their reported meeting at an Nvidia event in early 2024. Still, she writes, the episode could undermine Nvidia's assurances that it can keep sensitive technology from unauthorized buyers. Nvidia did not respond to a request for comment.