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The AI poster boy, the ‘Chinese spy’ and Trump: how an affair may have harmed US security
- Evidence type
- News report
- Sources
- 1 sourceJournalism
- Published
- 2 min read
- Truvace record
- TRV-2026-2446cite or check it
A hand on the back, a kiss on the cheek; the footage of Alice Huang’s interaction with Jensen Huang in a Taipei venue last year does not seem particularly remarkable at first glance. But the Nvidia chief executive’s revelation on Sunday that he had an affair with Ms Huang has given it new significance. According to reports, his lover, who is not a relation, was not just an executive at an Nvidia customer. She was also an alleged Chinese spy. Nvidia has now launched an independent investigation into reports that…
The problem
Nvidia chief Jensen Huang's affair with an executive US officials reportedly believed was a Chinese intelligence asset overlapped with his lobbying that won approval to export H200 AI chips to China for 25% of revenue.
In brief
Nvidia has opened an independent board investigation after chief executive Jensen Huang, 63, admitted an affair with Alice Huang, a Megaspeed executive whom US officials reportedly believed was a Chinese intelligence asset. Megaspeed is a Singapore-based buyer of Nvidia's AI chips.
The relationship overlapped with Huang's lobbying on US export controls. Trump let Nvidia sell previously banned chips to China in exchange for 15% of sales revenue, then allowed H200 exports for 25%. Experts said the first deal would help Beijing compete "on the AI frontier".
What China may have learned is unknown. The board says it has no reason to believe national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised, and Nvidia and Megaspeed have denied diverting chips to China. The Guardian's account rests largely on New York Times and Bloomberg reporting.
Main points
- The New York Times and Bloomberg first questioned Megaspeed last year over concerns it diverted Nvidia chips to China in breach of US export restrictions; Nvidia and Megaspeed denied this.
- The New York Times reported that Trump was told about Alice Huang's suspected intelligence links and decided not to act.
- The New York Times also reported that Nvidia appeared to have leaned on the US commerce department, through a Trump appointee, to halt a Megaspeed chip-smuggling investigation.
- Trump has met Huang at least seven times since his second term began, and four of those meetings touched on AI chip export controls.
- China accounted for roughly a quarter of Nvidia's revenue between 2020 and 2022, and Nvidia sold downgraded A800 and H800 chips there after Biden-era limits.
- Trump first invited Huang to the White House six days after his inauguration; the two met again in July and August 2025.
The full story
The affair came to light after a long chain of reporting. The New York Times and Bloomberg raised questions last year about Megaspeed, and last month the Times reported Huang's close relationship with Alice Huang. This week Huang confirmed the affair, saying there was "no excuse" for his conduct.
Export policy shifted sharply under Trump. After Biden-era rules limited what US firms could sell abroad, Nvidia sold downgraded chips to China, some of which were later banned. Trump then allowed previously banned chips to be exported in return for 15% of the revenue, and later allowed H200 exports for 25%.
The two were first photographed together in mid-2024 and filmed at a Taipei restaurant five months after Trump took office. That was at the height of Huang's lobbying, shortly before the H200 decision. Huang also met leaders from South Korea to Saudi Arabia and appeared with Keir Starmer in London, so he knew many governments' AI plans.
Talk it overFour questions for a class, a team or the dinner table
Who carries this cost, and what would have to change to prevent it?
The problem Nvidia chief Jensen Huang's affair with an executive US officials reportedly believed was a Chinese intelligence asset overlapped with his lobbying that won approval to export H200 AI chips to China for 25% of revenue.
How do we know? What can this kind of evidence show, and what can’t it?
The evidence This rests on a news report, from The Guardian.
What does it leave open? What else would you want to know before acting on it?
The record’s own caveat Nvidia's board says it has no reason to believe national security or company secrets were compromised, and what, if anything, was passed on is not established.
Have you seen AI used this way where you study, work or live? Did it go the same way?
The questions are the same on every record. The details under them are taken from this record as written.
Sources
1 on file- The Guardiantheguardian.com
The debate