Nvidia CEO's affair with alleged spy aided $7.5 billion in China chip shipments, Information reports

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s affair with a Chinese businesswoman alleged to be a spy for Beijing facilitated the shipment of at least $7.5 billion worth of the company’s chips to Chinese firms, The Information reported on Tuesday, citing two people who know her.

Alice Huang, along with her husband and sister, built a network of companies across China and Singapore to acquire Nvidia chips, according to the report. Alice Huang and Jensen Huang are not related.

At the center of the network was Shanghai Century Litong, a China-based company founded in June 2023 that secured preferred cloud partner status with Nvidia by October, giving it priority access to the company’s chips, The Information reported.

Century Litong was initially linked to Alice Huang’s sister, Huang Yu, through a founding shareholder that was ultimately controlled by Huang Yu before exiting the company in 2024, according to the report

When orders for Nvidia chips subject to US export restrictions stalled, Alice Huang used ties to Nvidia and its distributors to secure supplies, helping move about 240,000 H100, H200 and some A100 chips into China, the report said.

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Century Litong rented computing capacity and operated data centers using Nvidia chips, including some barred from sale to China. Some of the chips ultimately served Alibaba, Tencent and smaller Chinese AI labs, The Information reported.

Alice Huang also held an executive position at Singapore-registered Megaspeed, which was linked to Century Litong and has been investigated by US authorities over Nvidia chip shipments from Southeast Asia to China, the report said.

Megaspeed obtained Nvidia chips by renting computing capacity from Southeast Asian data centers to Chinese customers or by physically shipping hardware into China. Hardware acquired by Speedmatrix, a Malaysian subsidiary established by Megaspeed in 2024, later reached Century Litong, according to The Information.

The report said Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, leveraged her relationship with Jensen Huang to build credibility while remaining vague about her role and avoiding a paper trail.

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Nvidia did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Alibaba, Tencent, Megaspeed and Shanghai Century Litong were not immediately available for comment outside regular business hours. Reuters could not independently verify the report.

Nvidia’s board on Sunday launched an internal investigation, while the FBI is examining whether 63-year-old Jensen Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. Huang has told employees he was unfaithful to his wife but provided no details about the relationship.