US Intelligence Concluded a Megaspeed Executive Close to Nvidia's CEO Was a Chinese Asset, NYT Reports
The Times says President Trump was briefed about a year ago and took no action. Nvidia and Jensen Huang call the relationship routine, and China calls the claims smears.
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U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen and former top executive at Singapore data-center company Megaspeed, was a Chinese intelligence asset who grew close to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, The New York Times reported on October 29, 2026. President Trump was briefed about a year ago and took no action, the Times said. Nvidia says the relationship was ordinary customer contact.
Image: Illustrative photo of Marina Bay Sands in Singapore at dusk. Lily Lvnatikk via Unsplash / Wikimedia Commons — CC0 1.0
What the Times reported
The Times based its report on people briefed on classified intelligence, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Its key claims, as reported:
- U.S. officials had already been scrutinizing Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, over whether Megaspeed was steering advanced Nvidia AI chips to China.
- Officials then concluded she was a Chinese intelligence asset, funneling information to Beijing.
- Electronic surveillance showed she was in contact with an American citizen. An "unmasking" process identified that person as Jensen Huang. The two are not related.
- About a year ago, Trump was briefed that Beijing was getting reports from someone with direct access to Jensen Huang. According to the Times' sources, he chose not to act, partly over concerns about Nvidia's chip sales and the U.S.-China trade truce.
The Times reported that it is unclear which agencies investigated her or what information she may have passed to Beijing. Trump was told at the time that Jensen Huang was unaware of her alleged activities, though some senior officials doubt that. Jensen Huang did not receive a defensive briefing, according to the Times.
Nothing in the reporting alleges that Jensen Huang knowingly helped Chinese intelligence.
The responses
| Party | Response |
|---|---|
| Nvidia | Interactions were "not unusual or unexpected"; customers get "ordinary business information" |
| Jensen Huang | Business with Megaspeed was "normal and not unusual," he told Bloomberg |
| Megaspeed | Brought in outside lawyers for an internal inquiry; will cooperate with the U.S. |
| Chinese Embassy | Called the accusations "groundless smears and slanders" |
"Jensen's interactions with Ms. Huang are not unusual or unexpected. Meetings with customers are part of a C.E.O.'s job; Jensen talks with thousands of customer executives every year," an Nvidia spokesperson said in a statement to TechCrunch. The company added that regional cloud customers receive "ordinary business information — not sensitive NVIDIA trade secrets — and zero information relevant to national security."
Nvidia told CNBC that diversion allegations against Megaspeed "were thoroughly investigated and debunked last year."
Jensen Huang told Bloomberg, as reported by Quartz, that Nvidia had counted every GPU in Megaspeed's deployments. He said Alice Huang has left Megaspeed and that the U.S. government had not told him of its suspicions. The Times reported that the extent of her remaining ties to the company is uncertain.
The export-control backdrop
Megaspeed has been under U.S. scrutiny since 2024, and the Justice Department took over the Commerce Department's investigation this year, according to the Times. Earlier this month, the Times reported concerns that Megaspeed supplies data centers in Malaysia and Indonesia that appear to remotely serve customers in China.
Citing ImportGenius trade records, the Times reported that a Malaysian sister company of Megaspeed spent at least $4.8 billion on equipment containing Nvidia chips between June 2024 and February 2026. Purchases alone do not show illegal diversion, and Nvidia says its own review found none.
Why it matters
The report raises two questions. One is how a suspected foreign asset reportedly gained close access to the head of the most strategically important AI chipmaker. The other is whether, as the Times' sources describe, commercial and trade concerns shaped the White House's response.
What to watch:
- Whether the White House or intelligence agencies respond publicly to the Times' account
- The status of the Justice Department's Megaspeed investigation
- Any congressional requests for briefings on the intelligence
For more on chips and AI policy, visit our Artificial Intelligence hub.
How we reported this
Every allegation here comes from The New York Times, which relied on anonymous sources describing classified intelligence; DailyMech has not independently verified it. We confirmed the Times' account and the responses through TechCrunch, Ars Technica, Quartz and CNBC. We cut details from the draft that no source supported, including the claimed meeting locations and agency no-comments.
Published and fact-checked October 29, 2026.
Sources
- The New York Times: Nvidia Chief Seen as Target of Chinese Spy Plot, Oct 29, 2026.
- TechCrunch: US investigated Chinese spy plot aimed at Nvidia CEO, Oct 29, 2026.
- Ars Technica: Trump ignored intel on China's Nvidia spy to protect company's stock, report says, Oct 29, 2026.
- Quartz: Jensen Huang says Nvidia's ties to suspected Chinese spy's firm were normal, Oct 29, 2026.
- CNBC: Nvidia responds to accusations that Jensen Huang was Chinese target, Oct 29, 2026.
DailyMech used AI tools to help research and draft this article; it was fact-checked by our editors.