Nvidia disputed U.S. intelligence agency surveillance of an individual close to CEO Jensen Huang, denying allegations she could be a Chinese intelligence asset. The company said prior export control evasion allegations against a specific customer were investigated and debunked last year.
According to news reports citing intelligence officials, U.S. agencies surveilled Alice Huang, linked to Singapore-based cloud provider Megaspeed, over concerns she was assisting the Chinese government in acquiring information from Nvidia and Huang.
Intelligence officials also expressed concern that Huang had direct access to President Donald Trump. Nvidia's spokesperson said Megaspeed is a regional cloud customer and that Huang's interactions with its officials are routine, noting he communicates with thousands of customers annually. The company affirmed that customers do not gain access to trade secrets or sensitive national security information.
Reports also alleged Megaspeed had been suspected of helping companies circumvent U.S. export controls on Nvidia's AI chips, which are restricted from shipment to China. Nvidia said those allegations were fully investigated and disproven last year. The company expressed confidence that the U.S. government would inform it of any genuine security threat.
Nvidia operates under intense Washington scrutiny because its AI chips are essential tools for global AI development and represent a key lever in U.S.-China economic competition. Politicians and analysts worry Nvidia's chips could be used to develop Chinese military AI or commercial AI that competes with American technology.
Huang has cultivated a relationship with Trump, appearing at state dinners, AI summits and international trips where he has advocated for approval of certain Nvidia chips for China shipment and promoted U.S. AI infrastructure investment.
Earlier this year, the U.S. government cleared Nvidia's H200 chip for export to China, but Chinese regulators subsequently blocked imports. H200 chips are part of Nvidia's Hopper generation, which precedes the faster Blackwell generation used by American AI developers.
Nvidia's spokesperson also said the Chinese government is not seeking Nvidia products through regional cloud providers like Megaspeed. Instead, China blocked U.S. AI chips to protect its domestic industry—a move that resulted in some of the largest write-offs in U.S. tech history for the company last year.
