‘Pillow talk’ espionage? How alleged Chinese spy Alice Huang may have gained access to Jensen Huang’s Nvidia insights

An alleged Chinese spy may have gained access to sensitive information about Nvidia’s products and CEO Jensen Huang’s views on US President Donald Trump’s artificial intelligence (AI) policies through private conversations, The New York Post reported citing an expert.

Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, has been accused by US officials of being an asset of China's Ministry of State Security (MSS), its intelligence agency.

Nicholas Eftimiades, a retired senior US intelligence officer and author of Chinese Espionage Operations and Tactics, suggested that Alice's background as a technology businesswoman may have helped her get close to the Nvidia chief and potentially gather information about the company, the news outlet stated.

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Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, is a former senior executive at Megaspeed, an Nvidia customer and cloud partner. US officials have accused her of having links to China’s Ministry of State Security, but the allegations remain unproven and Beijing has rejected them.

A former US intelligence officer suggested that her background as a technology businesswoman and private conversations with Jensen Huang may have helped her get close to him. He said those conversations could have revealed information about Nvidia’s business and Huang’s views.

Reports said US authorities suspected she was gathering information about Nvidia’s business plans and its position on selling advanced AI chips to China. The provided reports do not establish that she obtained this information.

The allegations that Alice Huang worked for Chinese intelligence have not been publicly established. Nvidia said it had no reason to believe its trade secrets or national security information were compromised.

Nvidia’s independent directors appointed former acting US Attorney Joon H. Kim and his firm to conduct an independent investigation. The FBI was also reported to be examining whether Jensen Huang was targeted as part of a foreign intelligence operation.

“This is pillow talk. They have a mutual interest of things to talk about — he might say, ‘Yeah, no, I can’t get this passed the board,’ or, ‘Yeah I can get this passed," Eftimiades was quoted as saying.

“That let’s China focus and say, ‘OK now we know who our friends are and now we know who our enemies are,’” Eftimiades reportedly added.

Nvidia loses $430 billion in market value as Jensen Huang affair with suspected Chinese spy sparks probe

Nvidia has lost around $430 billion in market value over two trading sessions as fresh it deepen scrutiny of the chipmaker.

The controversy intensified on Tuesday after reports alleged that Huang's relationship with Alice Huang, a former senior executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed, helped facilitate at least $7.5 billion in Nvidia chip shipments to China.

US officials suspect Alice Huang of working for Chinese intelligence, an allegation that Beijing has rejected. China's Foreign Ministry has described the accusations as "groundless".

Alice served as a top executive at Megaspeed, a Nvidia customer and cloud partner that provides AI computing power to Chinese companies, including Alibaba.

Megaspeed has also faced allegations that it routed Nvidia chips to China. The company rejected the accusations, saying there had been "no evidence of any violations concerning the illicit transfer of chips or any illegal activities".

Nvidia board appoints law firm to investigate Jensen Huang

The Nvidia board has opened an independent investigation into its CEO following revelations about his alleged affair with Alice Huang.

In a fresh statement, the company said its independent directors had appointed former acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Joon H. Kim and his firm, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, to conduct a thorough and independent investigation.

The announcement follows the board's decision on Sunday to examine the matter.

US President Donald Trump has said that the FBI is investigating the affair. The agency is separately examining whether the 63-year-old Nvidia CEO was targeted as part of a foreign intelligence operation.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had also reportedly briefed Trump about the relationship, according to reports.

Jensen Huang admits infidelity, apologises to family

Huang has acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife and apologised to his family in an internal memo addressed to Nvidia employees.

"I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did," Huang said in the memo.

The Nvidia chief, however, did not provide details about the relationship.

Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, has been identified in reports as a former Chinese business executive suspected by US officials of having links to China's Ministry of State Security (MSS).

Huang has acknowledged the affair, but the allegations that Alice was working for Chinese intelligence remain unproven. Beijing has strongly rejected the accusations.