Chinese authorities have rejected allegations that Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang was targeted by Chinese espionage. Foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun described the claims as entirely without foundation on Monday, according to VG.
The denial followed an announcement from Nvidia's board on Sunday that it would examine the matter. The move came after Huang, the company's CEO and co-founder, acknowledged having had a relationship with a woman whom US authorities connect to a Chinese intelligence organization.
Why it matters
Nvidia sits at the center of the global artificial intelligence boom, and Huang has become one of the most prominent figures in the industry. Any question about his contacts or about the company's exposure to Chinese intelligence carries weight well beyond the boardroom.
The case also lands in the middle of a sensitive stretch in US–China relations. The AI industry and the two countries' rivalry in that field are expected to be a major topic when President Donald Trump meets Xi Jinping in China later this month, VG reports.
Megaspeed, the Singapore-based company where the woman is reportedly an executive, was already under scrutiny over attempts to sell AI chips to China. That trade is tightly restricted by US authorities, which makes the espionage question especially charged.
What the reporting says
The New York Times reported last month, citing US intelligence officials, that Alice Huang had passed information to Beijing. She is also known as Huang Le and is one of the executives at Megaspeed, according to the newspaper. She is not related to the 63-year-old Nvidia chief.
According to the New York Times, Alice Huang developed a close relationship with Jensen Huang. The newspaper also reported that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned the Trump administration about the relationship. Among the reasons was that Megaspeed had bought advanced AI chips from Nvidia while the company was under investigation over possible illegal smuggling of such chips to China.
US authorities concluded in a memo that the woman had been recruited by China's main civilian intelligence service, the MSS, according to the New York Times. The newspaper reports that Rubio's direct involvement in the warning had not previously been made public. The memo was shared with senior government figures ahead of Trump's visit to China in May, the paper's anonymous sources said.
The New York Times further reports that Alice Huang's connection to the Nvidia chief may have given her insight into Trump's positions on AI-related questions.
Admission and reaction
In a statement on Sunday, Jensen Huang confirmed and apologized for the relationship. The Taiwan-born executive said he had been unfaithful to his wife and that his actions had hurt her and their children.
"There is no excuse for what I did. I regret it deeply," Huang said, according to VG.
Investors have defended the Nvidia chief. Dagens Næringsliv reports that they described him as irreplaceable to the United States. E24 reports that Trump has also expressed support for Huang following the disclosure.
The board's review now puts the focus on how Nvidia handles the episode internally. Watch for the board's findings and for whether the affair affects the Trump–Xi meeting later this month.
