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Alice Huang has emerged at the centre of a major controversy involving Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. A former television reporter and senior executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed, Huang has come under scrutiny following US intelligence allegations of links to China’s Ministry of State Security. Her reported relationship with Jensen Huang has intensified the controversy
China has a long history of allegedly using honey trapping as a tactic for spying. Its intelligence agencies, such as the Ministry of State Security (MSS), have been accused of using romance, flattery, or fake relationships to steal secrets from foreign targets.
In 2008, the UK’s MI5 warned businessmen that China was monitoring business trips, with hotel rooms bugged to capture compromising footage. A major public case emerged in 2020, when a Chinese operative named Christine Fang was exposed by the FBI for targeting and dating local US politicians to infiltrate American political circles.
In a similar case, the CEO of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, revealed that he has been involved with an alleged Chinese spy, who was accused of stealing intel for China.
“I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry,” the 63-year-old said in an email to employees.
What’s the entire case and how the alleged spy targeted Huang? We explain.
Who is Alice Huang
Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, is a Chinese national and former senior executive at Singapore-based data centre company Megaspeed.
She shares the same surname as Nvidia CEO, but is not related to him.
More from ExplainersThe case was first reported by The New York Times, with details carried by Gadgets Now on Sunday (November 8).
According to the reports, Huang previously worked as a television reporter before moving into the technology and data centre business. Her transition from journalism to the corporate world eventually brought her into the AI chip supply chain.
Her personal life and early professional background have not been extensively documented in public reports.
But her association with Megaspeed and its dealings in Nvidia-powered computing equipment have placed her under the scrutiny of US intelligence agencies, according to reports by The New York Times.
Alice Huang came into the public spotlight after reports that US intelligence officials suspected her of having links with China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS). The allegations have also brought attention to her reported proximity to Nvidia’s billionaire CEO.
‘There is no excuse for what I did’
Jensen Huang, who co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and has led the company for more than three decades, acknowledged the ties with the alleged spy. He admitted it in an email to the company’s employees, board and shareholders.
“I owe my family and all of you an apology. I was unfaithful yo my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry,” he wrote in the mail.
“To my colleaguse at NVIDIA, including those I have worked alongside for decades, and yo our board, partmers, shareholders around the world: you deserve better from me,” the CEO added.
“My responsibility is to serve you and be worthy of your trust. I have fallen short of that responsibility. I am fully committed to Nvidia and will work to earn back your confidence,” he said.
This came alongside growing national security concerns surrounding the world’s most valuable chipmaker.
The company’s board of directors said it had initiated an independent inquiry after reports that its founder and CEO had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort.
“While the Board has no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised, the Board’s inquiry will examine all available information,” the company said in a statement.
From television reporter to Megaspeed executive: How did she enter the AI chip business?
Huang’s reported career shift from television journalism to the technology industry eventually brought her to Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data centre company.
She served as a senior executive at the company, which operates in the business of purchasing computing equipment powered by Nvidia chips and renting data centre capacity to other businesses.
The New York Times reported that Megaspeed functioned as an intermediary in the AI computing industry. It supplied data centre capacity to businesses, including Chinese technology giant Alibaba, using equipment powered by Nvidia’s advanced processors.
Her position at Megaspeed gave her access to an important part of the global AI hardware supply chain.
The company was involved in acquiring Nvidia computing equipment at a time when Washington had imposed restrictions on exports of advanced AI chips to China.
Meanwhile, a photograph from June 2024, published on LinkedIn, reportedly showed Alice Huang sitting beside Jensen Huang at a bar in Taipei. They were drinking whisky alongside executives from Taiwanese computer hardware manufacturer Gigabyte and technology company NetThunder.
In May 2025, another interaction was reported after a dinner with AI suppliers in Taipei.
Alice Huang was photographed standing behind Jensen Huang outside a restaurant as he spoke to journalists. The photographs later became relevant to reports that were examining the nature of their professional and personal association.
What US intelligence memo alleges
The controversy came into the limelight last month, when The New York Times reported that US intelligence agencies suspected Alice Huang of being a Chinese intelligence asset who had developed a close relationship with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
The report alleged that China’s Ministry of State Security had recruited her to collect information about the Nvidia chief and potentially influence the company’s efforts to sell advanced AI chips to China
Meanwhile, US intelligence agencies intercepted communications involving Alice Huang and an American citizen while monitoring her electronically. The identity of the American was initially masked but was subsequently established to be Jensen Huang through a process known as unmasking.
A classified US government memo, under the supervision of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, reportedly described an intimate relationship between the two. The memo was based on intelligence reporting and surveillance.
The $4.8-billion Nvidia chip mystery
The financial trail centres on Megaspeed and its Malaysian sister company, Speedmatrix. According to trade records cited by The New York Times, Speedmatrix purchased at least $4.8 billion worth of advanced AI equipment containing Nvidia chips between June 2024 and February 2026.
Megaspeed established its Malaysian subsidiary, Speedmatrix, in early 2024, with two offices in Johor. The company also developed data centres across Southeast Asia, including Malaysia and Indonesia, and supplied computing capacity to Chinese customers such as Alibaba.
The business model raised questions among US investigators because Chinese companies could potentially access Nvidia-powered computing infrastructure located outside China without importing the restricted chips directly into the country.
Renting computing capacity from overseas data centres offered a way to access advanced hardware despite US export restrictions.
Also, American authorities suspected that some of the Nvidia equipment purchased through Megaspeed’s business network was being diverted illegally to China. A US Commerce Department official who visited a Megaspeed-operated data centre in Malaysia towards the end of 2024 reportedly found Nvidia equipment still packed in boxes.
This raised questions about whether the equipment was being installed at the facility or transported elsewhere.
The investigation was not limited to the company’s purchases. US officials were also examining its wider network of businesses and investors.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang present NVIDIA Blackwell platform at an event ahead of the COMPUTEX forum, in Taipei, Taiwan. Reuters
Investors familiar with the business told The New York Times that Alice Huang and her associates used her connection to Nvidia’s CEO to raise money.
The report also noted that an early account had placed Megaspeed’s commitment to Nvidia products at nearly $2 billion, before trade records revealed the much larger $4.8-billion figure.
The US Commerce Department began examining Megaspeed towards the end of the Biden administration. The investigation was subsequently transferred to the Justice Department in 2026, according to administration officials cited by The New York Times.
Singaporean authorities also questioned Alice Huang in 2025 before releasing her, according to The New York Times. But Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs later disputed the account that its officials had suspected her of being a Chinese intelligence source.
With input from agencies
