Who is Alice Huang? The alleged spy at center of Nvidia CEO affair scandal

A relationship between the high-profile CEO of Nvidia Jensen Huang and a businesswoman suspected of spying for Beijing has sent shockwaves through political and technology circles.Alice Huang, who worked in Chinese finance before moving into tech with a leadership position at a Singapore data center firm, reportedly maintained a close relationship with the head of the California company whose chips power advanced artificial intelligence systems.Reporting over the past month by the New York Times revealed that top policymakers received a memo outlining intelligence that Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, was an operative for China’s Ministry of State Security. The intelligence indicated she had been recruited to sway Nvidia into making its top-tier microchips more accessible within China.A widely shared 2024 photograph, uploaded to LinkedIn by software firm NetThunder, captures Jensen Huang and others holding drinks in Taipei, with Alice Huang seated behind him, seemingly watching him speak.Alice Huang attends a dinner hosted by Jensen Huang, Nvidia's CEO, at a restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan, May 22, 2025 (AP)The precise duration of the affair and the timing of its conclusion remain unknown and Alice Huang couldn’t be reached for comment.Who Alice Huang isVery little publicly available information exists regarding Alice Huang. She worked as a Chinese finance executive before transitioning into the artificial intelligence, data center, and computer chip sectors.In 2023, Huang became a director at Singapore-based Megaspeed, a firm that characterizes itself as an "NVIDIA cloud partner." The business faced scrutiny from the U.S. last year over allegations of circumventing U.S. export restrictions and routing significant quantities of advanced Nvidia chips to users in China.Corporate registration records show Megaspeed was originally incorporated in Singapore in 2015 as 7Road International, functioning as an overseas spin-off for a Chinese video game developer.Filings reveal that the business rebranded as Megaspeed International in March 2023, with all shares being transferred to Huang Le Limited, an entity registered in the British Virgin Islands.Jensen Huang with a woman confirmed by a Reuters source to be Alice Huang in Taipei, Taiwan released on June 7, 2024 (Reuters)That same month, research from C4ADS, a Washington-based non-profit focused on global security, showed that Alice Huang became the controlling shareholder of Megaspeed.However, by November 2023, Huang was no longer listed as a director at Megaspeed, and her full shareholding was transferred to Tan Yong Pong, a Singaporean businessman who is also known as James Tan.While public documents indicate Alice Huang departed Megaspeed, short seller Culper Research published a report in May citing a company employee who stated Huang was "actually still our boss" and remained involved in daily operations.Before her involvement with Megaspeed, Alice Huang held senior executive positions at Chinese firm Shanghai Hexi Investment Co. from around 2015 to 2017, according to records from Chinese private equity database Simuwang and social media posts.According to social media posts by Hexi, her roles there included deputy general manager, executive director, and member of the investment committee, among potential other responsibilities.Hexi's founder Kang Wei, whose name appeared alongside Alice Huang on certain records, was fined 400,000 yuan ($60,000) by China's securities regulator in 2018 over financial misconduct, while Hexi itself received a fine of 17.7 million yuan ($2.7 million).Alice Huang attending a dinner with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (in black) at a restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan May 22, 2025 (via REUTERS)Prior to that, Alice Huang worked within HSBC’s private banking division in Hong Kong and at CITIC Securities, a Chinese investment bank.Neither HSBC nor CITIC immediately responded to requests for comment regarding her employment history.When questioned by lawmakers and reporters this week about Megaspeed and Alice Huang, Taiwan’s Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang stated that authorities, including national security officials, are "actively" investigating the matter, adding that Huang would be prevented from returning to Taiwan.Beijing has denied allegations that Alice Huang was working as a Chinese operative. The Foreign Ministry stated this week that the "Chinese spy allegation is unsubstantiated. It is nothing but smears against China."Why Megaspeed is at the center of the controversyWith the emergence of the latest scandal, Singapore-based AI computing company Megaspeed, where Alice Huang was a senior executive, is once again in the spotlight.Alice Huang attending a dinner with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (in black) at a restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan May 22, 2025 (via REUTERS)Megaspeed, an Nvidia customer, was originally incorporated in 2015 before changing its name to Megaspeed International in 2023. Nvidia lists Megaspeed as a partner on its website, while Megaspeed says on its website it's “a core business partner of NVIDIA’s computing power cloud business in the Asia-Pacific region.”It was the overseas gaming arm of Shenzhen-based developer 7Road Holdings Ltd.Late last year, Megaspeed denied accusations following reports that it was routing Nvidia chips to China, saying in a statement on its website that “there has been no evidence of any violations concerning the illicit transfer of chips or any illegal activities.”Singapore’s government said in late October, after fresh reports that Alice Huang was accused of being a Chinese intelligence source, that authorities were investigating Megaspeed and that Singapore “does not condone businesses” circumventing or violating other countries’ export controls. However, it said, there were no investigations conducted in respect to Alice Huang.Megaspeed did not immediately respond to a request for comment.