Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had a romantic relationship with alleged Chinese spy, Alice? US intelligence memo raises alarm

The US government, as per a report, believes Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang had a romantic relationship with a Chinese woman recruited to spy for China's main intelligence agency. According to a Financial Times report citing people familiar with the matter, US officials in a memo shared earlier this year noted that information obtained by American intelligence agencies suggests that the Nvidia CEO was an executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based customer of the US chip group. The US intelligence community believes Alice Huang was recruited as a spy by China's Ministry of State Security.

As per the report, the memo was shared with a small group of top US government officials shortly before President Donald Trump travelled to Beijing for a summit with Xi Jinping. The White House and CIA declined to comment.

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Pictures of Jensen Huang with alleged Chinese spy go viral: What they show

Photographs and videos showing Huang with the Megaspeed executive are being widely circulated on social media. In June 2024, just weeks before Megaspeed began its purchases, photos posted to LinkedIn showed Jensen Huang alongside Alice Huang at a bar in Taipei following a local technology trade show, where they drank whiskey with other AI executives.

A year later, in May 2025, they were seen together again, leaving a restaurant in Taipei after a business dinner with other AI suppliers. She waited behind Jensen Huang as he spoke to Taiwanese journalists outside the restaurant. It is not clear when the two first met. However, Alice Huang had posted photos of herself with him on her social media feed.

Following the intelligence allegations, her personal social media feeds, where she had posted the June 2024 bar photos and the May 2025 restaurant photos, were scrubbed, hidden or deactivated.

Nvidia and Megaspeed respond to Chinese spy controversy

Nvidia has declined to comment on the government memo and the assertions that its chief executive had an intimate relationship with Alice Huang. The company has previously said he meets "thousands of customer executives every year".

Megaspeed, which was spun off from a Chinese gaming company in 2023, has come under US scrutiny for allegedly smuggling advanced Nvidia chips into China in violation of US export controls. Nvidia had previously launched an internal probe into the allegations but found that there was no evidence of wrongdoing.

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Republican lawmakers want answers

The revelation about the memo comes a day after top Republican lawmakers asked the Nvidia CEO to appear in private before the House China, foreign affairs and intelligence committees to answer questions about a New York Times report that US intelligence had concluded he was the target of a Chinese spying operation. They also wanted to ask Huang about the security protocols the company has in place.

Pressure over China exports

The US government has been investigating companies, particularly in south-east Asia, believed to be smuggling advanced chips into China. The focus has intensified as competition between the US and China in AI has grown sharper, with Washington increasingly concerned about Beijing's ability to obtain chips that would accelerate its military modernisation.

Jensen Huang-Donald Trump connection

US national security officials reportedly have also privately expressed frustration about Huang, who personally lobbied Trump earlier this year to allow Nvidia to export the H200 chip to customers in China. Notably, Huang has held multiple meetings with Trump since the president began his second term in 2025. When Trump flew to China in May for the summit with Xi, Huang was not among the chief executives who departed Washington on Air Force One. After Trump learnt he was not included in the group, he called the Nvidia CEO, who flew to Alaska and boarded the presidential jet during a stopover. In September, Huang also attended the state dinner Trump held for Xi during his US visit.