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Strangely enough, very little is known about Alice Huang, who found herself in the spotlight of the world press because of her affair with her namesake, one of the most influential representatives of the high-tech industry, the head of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, and who gave new impetus to the technological war between the United States and China.
She is a private guest at banquets, gala receptions and golf resorts, where she is always surrounded by the most influential representatives of the business world.
During her business career, she managed to work in high positions in the largest companies in Shanghai and Singapore, and in her youth she was a television journalist for Chinese state media.
However, despite such a bright path, there is very little information about it in the public domain. This only fuels the suspicions of American intelligence agencies that Alice Huang may be a Chinese spy.
Her affair with one of the world's largest technology magnates, who has direct access to US President Donald Trump, goes beyond simple adultery and has become the basis for multiple investigations - corporate, journalistic and an FBI investigation.
Jensen Huang, in an address to employees of his company, admitted that he had cheated on his wife. Nvidia's board of directors said the company has launched an independent investigation, but so far sees no reason to believe that corporate or government secrets were stolen as a result of this treason.
The press drew attention to the same surname of the head of Nvidia and his mistress, but journalists found no evidence of their relationship.
Alice Huang's current whereabouts are unknown. She has not commented on the current situation in any way and has not made any public statements or appeared in public since last year, when American intelligence agencies first became suspicious of her relationship with Jensen Huang.
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Let's figure out who Alice Huang is, and what in this story is established facts and what is speculation.
A businesswoman about whom little is known
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Alice Huang's Chinese name is Huang Le, according to records obtained by CNN from US Customs and Border Protection. She is 43 years old and a Chinese citizen.
According to open sources, it was possible to establish that she previously worked for Chinese state television, then moved to the financial sector, and subsequently went into business in the field of cloud technologies and artificial intelligence.
Among her previous places of work, the British bank HSBC and the Chinese brokerage company CITIC Securities are mentioned, but they have not yet responded to requests from the press to confirm or deny this information.
It is noteworthy that despite such a dynamic career and extensive connections in the AI industry, very little is known about Alice Huang.
She speaks fluent English, regularly attended industry conferences and executive dinners, and had connections at the highest levels of the artificial intelligence industry, the New York Times wrote.
In March 2023, Alice became a director of Singapore-based Megaspeed International, one of the companies in Southeast Asia that purchases microchips to create computing infrastructure and then rents out the computing power to companies in China.
Megaspeed was previously known as 7Road International, according to Singapore's Straits Times newspaper. It was a Chinese video game company and was associated with government-backed investors.
It is noteworthy that 7Road International maintained close ties with the Shanghai investment fund Shanghai Hexi Investment Management, where Alice Huang worked until 2019.
According to corporate documents, Alice Huang formally left the post of director at Megaspeed International just eight months after taking office - in November of the same year 2023.
However, according to the Guardian, company employees told reporters that she remained a de facto director for much longer.
According to media reports, since the end of 2024, American authorities have been investigating Megaspeed, suspecting it of helping Chinese companies circumvent US export restrictions.
The New York Times reported that Singapore authorities questioned Alice Huang during their own investigation into the company but then released her.
What is the essence of suspicion?
Photo credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images
Judging by the information collected by Western publications, the key point in this story is the company Megaspeed International, which provides clients with computing power based on Nvidia processors.
Analysts quoted by CNN estimate that Megaspeed has purchased more than $4 billion worth of Nvidia chips, becoming one of the company's largest buyers in Asia. At the same time, the cloud business model allows customers to use computing power without purchasing the processors themselves.
According to the New York Times and other publications, American authorities began to check whether Megaspeed was using its overseas facilities to provide Chinese customers with access to technologies, the supply of which directly to China is limited.
The United States is limiting the export of its most powerful AI processors to China, fearing they will help Beijing strengthen its military and technological capabilities.
Megaspeed denies violating export laws. Nvidia also denied claims that its equipment was being illegally redirected. The mere fact of large purchases of American processors does not indicate a violation of the law.
U.S. officials have concluded that Alice Huang may have been recruited by China's Ministry of State Security, according to a New York Times report based on sources familiar with intelligence.
Huang's alleged tasks included gathering intelligence on American AI chips, gaining access to information through Jensen Huang, and possibly influencing his position on supplying advanced processors to China.
The FBI first warned U.S. lawmakers about suspicions that Alice Huang might be passing information to China nearly a year ago, two sources told CNN.
The New York Times also reported that US intelligence agencies had been electronically monitoring Alice Huang for at least a year, and last year informed US President Donald Trump about it.
Jensen Huang's close relationship with Trump is one reason why the Alice Huang case could pose a threat to US national security.
According to the Guardian newspaper, the two have met at least seven times since the start of Trump's second term. Huang had the opportunity to directly discuss AI and processor supply policies with the president.
It must be emphasized that at this time there is no concrete evidence of the alleged recruitment of Huang by the Chinese intelligence services.
Nvidia announced the creation of an independent commission to review the circumstances. The company's board of directors stated that it has no reason to believe that as a result of the affair between Jensen and Alice, any company secrets were leaked or a threat to US national security was created. Jensen Huang remains CEO.
China, represented by Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun, rejected the accusations, calling them baseless.
In the United States, the story caused a great resonance among congressmen. According to Axios, congressional committee chairmen have requested a meeting with Huang and have set a deadline of November 11 to agree on a date.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declined to comment on the situation with Alice Huang.
As the New York Times reports, last spring Rubio oversaw the preparation of a memo that warned the Trump administration about the Nvidia chief's relationship with a Chinese entrepreneur.
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