US intelligence memo alleges China recruited Megaspeed executive to spy on Nvidia CEO

The memo and the allegations

A memo circulated among top policymakers in the Trump administration last spring cited intelligence that Alice Huang, an executive at Singapore-based data center firm Megaspeed, was recruited by China's Ministry of State Security to gather information on Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, according to people briefed on the intelligence cited by The Business Times. The New York Times and the Financial Times reported the memo's contents on November 6, and TechCrunch reported on the memo on November 7.

The memo allegedly states that Huang was recruited to collect intelligence on Jensen Huang as part of a drive by Beijing's top spy agency to learn more about US AI chips and potentially influence the company to push for its most advanced chips to be made available to China.

The two Huangs are not related. Alice Huang is also known as Huang Le. She is a former senior executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based customer of Nvidia.

The alleged relationship

The Financial Times reported that the memo also claimed Jensen Huang had a romantic relationship with Alice Huang. Ynet News reported that the relationship allegedly extended beyond business and became romantic, according to the classified US assessment, and that their relationship was monitored closely by US intelligence agencies for more than a year.

The two were photographed together at a bar in Taipei in June 2024, according to Ynet News. WION reported that in May 2025 they were seen together again, leaving a restaurant in Taipei after a business dinner with other AI suppliers.

Responses

Nvidia spokesperson John Rizzo said the company does not share classified information with its customers, and that customers do not ask Nvidia to press the US government to change its policies on chip sales to China. Rizzo maintained that Jensen Huang's interactions with Alice Huang were "not unusual" and consistent with the kinds of meetings he has with any of Nvidia's many customers.

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

Liu Chang, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy, said the Times reporting was "unsubstantiated" and "nothing but smears against China," according to The Business Times.

Congressional and political context

On Thursday, November 5, the Republican leaders of three influential US House committees requested that Jensen Huang appear before them later in November in a closed-door briefing regarding his interactions with Alice Huang, according to The Business Times.

The New York Times reported on October 29 that Jensen Huang was a target of a Chinese intelligence operation, and that US intelligence agencies were conducting electronic surveillance of Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen, for at least a year.

WION reported that US national security officials have privately expressed frustration about Huang, who personally lobbied Trump earlier this year to allow Nvidia to export the H200 chip to customers in China. The outlet also reported that Huang has held multiple meetings with Trump since the president began his second term in 2025, and that when Trump flew to China in May for a summit with Xi Jinping, Huang was not among the chief executives who departed Washington on Air Force One.

Why it matters

The allegations center on whether a Singapore-based Nvidia customer with ties to China was used by Chinese intelligence to gather information on the CEO of one of the world's most important AI chip companies. The story intersects with broader US-China competition over advanced semiconductors and export controls. None of the allegations has been proven in public, and the memo is an intelligence assessment, not a court filing or a charge.

Sources

• techcrunch.com: Megaspeed exec was recruited to spy on Nvidia CEO, according to US intelligence memo | TechCrunch
• startupfortune.com: US intelligence memo says China recruited a Megaspeed executive to spy on Nvidia's Jensen Huang - Startup Fortune
• ynetnews.com: Secret US intelligence memo alleges Nvidia CEO had affair with suspected Chinese spy
• wionews.com: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had a romantic relationship with alleged Chinese spy, Alice? US intelligence memo raises alarm
• businesstimes.com.sg: China recruited exec at Singapore data centre firm to spy on Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang: US intelligence - The Business Times

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.