A short seller flagged Nvidia CEO’s ties to a suspected Chinese spy six months before the scandal

Culper Research, a New York short-selling firm, questioned Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's closeness to Megaspeed executive Alice Huang in a May 13 report, roughly six months before the current spy scandal broke, TechCrunch reports. Megaspeed is a Singapore-based buyer of Nvidia chips. U.S. intelligence officials now believe Alice Huang, who shares the CEO's surname but is not related to him, was recruited by Beijing to gather intelligence on Jensen Huang and sway his views on U.S. export controls for advanced AI chips. Over the weekend, Jensen Huang admitted to an extramarital affair, and Nvidia has opened a formal investigation into the relationship.

Culper's report, which accompanied a short position on Nvidia announced on X, described the pair's relationship as "uncomfortably close." It said the CEO had been seen partying and socializing with Alice Huang several times and claimed some Nvidia employees speculated about a special relationship between them.

The firm also argued that Nvidia sales lost to export controls were being rerouted through Southeast Asia, and that Megaspeed was covertly funded by Alibaba via shell companies. It cited records showing Megaspeed's total liabilities and equity jumping from $33 million at the end of 2023 to about $3 billion a year later, largely as refundable deposits from an unnamed source. The Financial Times reported Monday that documents show Alibaba lent Megaspeed money through subsidiaries.

TechCrunch notes that Culper profits if Nvidia's stock falls, and its claims of illegal chip diversion have not been independently verified. The episode raises questions about export-control enforcement and leadership oversight at the world's most important AI chipmaker.