Jensen Huang, Nvidia chief executive, faces scrutiny after BBC News reported an alleged affair involving a suspected Chinese spy, prompting a US national security scare.
The New York Times in October 2026 reported that Huang had a relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive of Singapore-based company Megaspeed who is unrelated to Jensen Huang, and was investigated by US authorities and found to be a Chinese intelligence asset.
Huang’s rise from Taiwan to Nvidia
Huang was born in Taiwan in 1963 and moved to the US with his family at nine. He studied electrical engineering at Oregon State University before completing a master’s degree at Stanford.
Nvidia was founded in 1993 by Huang, Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem. The company initially developed graphics chips for computer games before shifting towards artificial intelligence.
Stephen Witt, author of Thinking Machine, told the BBC that Huang helped create the AI hardware market by investing heavily before large data-centre customers existed.
Who is Alice Huang?
Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, is a Chinese national who has held a senior executive position at Singapore-based Megaspeed.
Her profile in a Chinese private-fund database identifies her as a former television journalist, with previous roles at Hunan TV and China’s state broadcaster, CCTV.
She has also reportedly worked at HSBC, where she was listed as an assistant to the president of the private banking division, before moving to CITIC Securities, where she served as a vice president.
Trump relationship faces fresh scrutiny
The investigation has placed renewed attention on Huang’s relationship with President Donald Trump and his role in Washington’s effort to maintain US leadership in artificial intelligence.
At a recent White House AI summit, Huang stood alongside Trump and Elon Musk among 42 technology executives. Trump has repeatedly described AI leadership as a contest with China.
Trump told reporters he had not spoken to Huang since the investigation emerged, but called him “a fine person” who had “done an amazing job for our country”.
“I’ve always found Jensen Huang to be very aboveboard,” Trump said, adding that the administration would look into the matter “very closely”.
Nvidia’s China business and export controls
US export controls introduced since 2022 restrict China’s access to advanced technology. Washington says the measures protect national security and preserve America’s competitive advantage.
Those restrictions have sharply reduced Nvidia’s Chinese business. Huang previously said the company’s share of China’s market had fallen from about 95% to effectively zero.
Nvidia also relies on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, which makes more than 90% of the world’s most advanced chips, linking its commercial position to wider supply-chain concerns.
The unresolved question over China access
Huang has travelled between Washington and Beijing seeking a US-approved route back into China, where Nvidia has been largely excluded from a lucrative market.
The BBC reported that the revelations may help explain why Huang has not secured the Trump administration’s permission to sell all but Nvidia’s most advanced chips to China.
No final decision on Nvidia’s permitted Chinese sales has been reported. The investigation could also affect Huang’s access to policymakers, although the supplied reporting confirms no formal consequence.
Nvidia’s next specific test is the Trump administration’s decision on which chips the company may sell in China, while scrutiny continues over Huang’s personal and national-security connections.