Nvidia is defending CEO Jensen Huang’s relationship with a technology executive whom U.S. intelligence agencies have accused of gathering information for Beijing, raising national security concerns as Washington and China compete for dominance in artificial intelligence.
The New York Times reported Thursday that Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, developed a close relationship with Jensen Huang while U.S. officials investigated whether she helped divert advanced Nvidia AI chips to China. The two are not related.
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, Nvidia said the relationship reflected routine business dealings with Alice Huang’s employer, Singapore-based technology company Megaspeed.
“Megaspeed has been no different than many other regional cloud customers,” the company said. “Jensen’s interactions with Ms. Huang are not unusual or unexpected. Meetings with customers are part of a CEO’s job; Jensen talks with thousands of customer executives every year.”
Nvidia added that its regional cloud customers receive “ordinary business information—not sensitive Nvidia trade secrets—and zero information relevant to national security.”
The Washington Examiner requested comment from the White House and CIA, but neither responded.
U.S. officials concluded Alice Huang was gathering intelligence for Beijing. The officials were reportedly alarmed because of Jensen Huang’s influence over U.S. technology policy and his close relationship with President Donald Trump, according to the New York Times.
Trump was briefed on the intelligence findings roughly a year ago but chose not to act because he was wary of disrupting Nvidia’s chip sales and further complicating trade relations with China, the New York Times reported.
U.S. officials initially did not believe Jensen Huang knew Alice Huang was gathering intelligence for Beijing. It remains unclear whether intelligence agencies have since changed that assessment.
The allegations come as Jensen Huang has lobbied the Trump administration to ease restrictions on Nvidia chip sales to China. He also negotiated an arrangement allowing the U.S. government to receive a 25% share of revenue from certain chips approved for sale to China earlier this year.
Nvidia disputed allegations that Megaspeed diverted chips, saying the claims had been investigated and disproved last year.
“The diversion allegations against this regional cloud were thoroughly investigated and debunked last year,” the company told the Washington Examiner.
Nvidia said it routinely receives U.S. government updates about entities of concern and acts accordingly.
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“We’re confident that if the U.S. government believes that any person is a threat to American industry, it would let us know,” the company said.
The company also defended expanding American AI infrastructure overseas, arguing that “attacking American industry for honoring longstanding U.S. law and policy undercuts national security.”
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
