US investigated Chinese spy plot aimed at Nvidia CEO | TechCrunch

Executive reportedly under scrutiny

Alice Huang, also identified as Huang Le, worked for Singapore AI cloud firm Megaspeed. Anonymous sources told The New York Times that she could also have been a Chinese spy.

The Times reported that U.S. intelligence agencies had monitored Huang for about a year to learn more about her connections with China. She was photographed with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and others at business dinners in the Singapore region.

Concerns over Nvidia information

Sources cited by the Times said investigators were concerned that Alice Huang had become close to Jensen Huang. They feared she might have gathered information about Nvidia’s plans and the CEO’s efforts to persuade the Trump administration to allow shipments of more advanced technology to China. An Nvidia spokesperson told TechCrunch that Jensen Huang’s relationship with the Megaspeed executive was like his relationship with other regional customers. The spokesperson said, “Meetings with customers are part of a C.E.O.’s job.”

Nvidia rejects trade secrets concern

Nvidia said regional cloud customers receive ordinary business information, not sensitive trade secrets. The company also said customers received no information relevant to national security. The spokesperson said Jensen Huang speaks with thousands of customer executives every year, describing his interactions with Alice Huang as neither unusual nor unexpected.