Who is Alice Huang and why is her relationship with Nvidia’s CEO under scrutiny?

The New York Times reported that US intelligence officials believed Alice Huang had been recruited by China to gather information about Nvidia and its CEO.

Nvidia shares fell more than 4 per cent on Monday amid heightened scrutiny of Jensen Huang’s leadership. Here is a timeline of how the controversy unfolded:

March 2023: Alice Huang takes charge of Megaspeed

Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, was appointed managing director of Megaspeed International in March 2023, the same month the Singapore-based company rebranded from 7Road International.

The company was incorporated in 2015 and underwent several ownership changes in 2023, according to corporate records cited by Singapore-based The Business Times. Huang stepped down as registered director in November that year, though questions have since been asked about whether she continued to exercise influence over the business.

Megaspeed describes itself on LinkedIn as a major Nvidia cloud partner in the Asia-Pacific region, listing between two and 10 staff across offices in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.

June 2024: Photographed together in Taipei

One of the earliest publicly reported photographs of Jensen Huang and Alice Huang together dates to June 2024, during the Computex technology trade show in Taipei.

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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admits to extramarital affair; board orders investigation

The photograph posted on LinkedIn by tech company Netthunder showed the Nvidia CEO seated beside her at a group dinner.

Late 2024–2025: US investigates Megaspeed

In late 2024, the US Commerce Department opened an investigation into whether Megaspeed had diverted Nvidia hardware to China in violation of export controls.

In May 2025, Jensen Huang and Alice Huang were filmed together at a dinner in Taipei. An Agence France-Presse review of press live-streams showed Huang “putting his arm around Alice Huang as she kisses him on the right cheek”.

The New York Times made the federal investigation public on October 9, 2025, detailing scrutiny of Megaspeed’s business dealings and its ties to Chinese tech companies.

October 29-31, 2026: Espionage allegations surface

The New York Times reported that US intelligence officials believed Alice Huang had been recruited as a Chinese intelligence asset. “President Trump was briefed and took no action,” the report noted.

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The Wall Street Journal published further allegations on October 30 that US authorities suspected she had provided information to Beijing. The report raised concerns about Jensen Huang’s access to sensitive data and his influence over US chip export policies.

Nvidia defended the meetings as routine business, while China’s foreign ministry labelled the espionage allegations as “groundless”.

On October 31, Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs rejected the Wall Street Journal’s claims that local authorities had investigated Alice Huang’s alleged links to Chinese espionage or her relationship with Jensen Huang.

The ministry confirmed that police investigations into Megaspeed were ongoing.

November 4-5, 2026: US lawmakers demand answers

Three Republican lawmakers requested a closed-door briefing with Jensen Huang on his interactions with Alice Huang and Nvidia’s safeguards against foreign intelligence threats.

They included Brian Mast, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; John Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on China; and Rick Crawford, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

“Meetings with customers are part of a CEO’s job; Jensen talks with thousands of customer executives every year,” Nvidia said. The company added that it was confident Washington would alert it if an individual posed a threat to American industry.

November 8, 2026: Admission of infidelity and Nvidia probe

Huang acknowledged in an internal message to employees that he had been unfaithful to his wife and apologised to his family and colleagues. He did not identify the woman involved.

Nvidia’s board announced an independent inquiry led by outside counsel to determine whether its CEO had been targeted by foreign intelligence, reiterating that it had no reason to believe corporate secrets or national security had been compromised.

November 9–10, 2026: Legal action and mounting fallout

Nvidia and its CEO were sued on Monday in a proposed shareholder class action filed in a federal court in San Jose, California. The complaint accused the company and its CEO of misleading investors by failing to disclose Jensen Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang and associated security risks.

On the same day, Trump defended Jensen Huang, saying the CEO had said he had no knowledge of the woman’s reported espionage activities. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun also dismissed the allegations as “entirely baseless”.

Separately, US media outlets including The New York Times, Bloomberg and NBC News reported that the US Commerce Department halted its civil inquiry into Megaspeed after Nvidia’s general counsel contacted the department. The Justice Department later took over the case.