Jensen Huang out at Nvidia as Chinese spy suspicions engulf chip giant

Jensen Huang has stepped down as Nvidia's chief executive as investigations swirl around his relationship with tech executive Alice Huang (no relation), whom US intelligence suspects of being an asset of China's Ministry of State Security. The FBI, the US Congress and the Nvidia board are all looking into the matter, according to the ABC. Nvidia said it has no reason to believe national security or company secrets were compromised.

Investigators are expected to examine whether Alice Huang was recruited to spy on Jensen Huang, influence his dealings with the US government, steal Nvidia's secrets, or all three. They are also expected to dig into her company, Megaspeed, which US officials reportedly suspect of smuggling Nvidia's highest-powered chips into China despite export restrictions. Megaspeed said this week it welcomed government scrutiny and was committed to demonstrating through concrete actions that it operates according to the law.

China's foreign ministry rejected the allegations as unsubstantiated and dismissed them as smears against China. Spokeswoman Mao Ning said Washington should stop fabricating the Chinese spy narrative as a pretext for imposing technology restrictions. Multiple investigations remain underway.

Former intelligence officers told the ABC the saga has exposed how unprepared the US is for Chinese espionage. Nicholas Eftimiades, a former intelligence officer, said that inside the intelligence community, people will tell you the US is getting shellacked. Dennis Wilder, a China specialist who spent decades at the CIA and now lectures at Georgetown, described the honey trap tactic used against American businessmen, diplomats and defence attaches, warning that the MSS is far bolder than it used to be.

Silicon Valley is already jumpy. Last month an OpenAI employee, a Saudi national, was charged with wrapping a recording device in toilet paper and planting it in a conference room. Training at the company warns staff that spies may try to seduce them, and advises keeping OpenAI logos out of sight, using screen protectors on public transport and wiping whiteboards in case cleaning staff are compromised, the Wall Street Journal reported in October.

President Donald Trump was told about intelligence agencies' suspicions of Alice Huang last year and again in May, according to the New York Times. But he said he did not know of the allegations when he invited Jensen Huang on a trip to China earlier this year, and when pressed on when he learned of them, said he would have to check. Trump also shrugged off Chinese spying at a rally earlier this month, saying: Someone said China is spying on us, sir. I said, we're spying on them too. Don't worry about it.