Alice Huang, founder of Megaspeed International and named in accusations of espionage for China, is in Beijing amid an internal investigation by Nvidia Corp. into her connection with the company's chief executive, Jensen Huang, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg.
The sources, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the case, indicated that Huang currently lives in the Chinese capital with the knowledge of security officials. They did not specify when she traveled to Beijing, the reasons for her move, or the activities she carries out there.
The whereabouts of the businesswoman, also identified as Huang Le, have generated speculation since Jensen Huang admitted to an extramarital affair and Nvidia's board opened an inquiry into accusations linking her to espionage work for China.
Beijing denied that Huang was a spy. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while attempts to contact the founder of Megaspeed International also went unanswered on Thursday.
The controversy has affected the markets and could lead to Jensen Huang's departure from the leadership of Nvidia, according to the report. The businesswoman found herself at the center of the case due to her closeness with the chief executive and her company's role in renting advanced chips to Chinese firms.
Megaspeed became the largest buyer of processors…
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Photo taken from a TVBS video showing Alice Huang at a dinner hosted by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at a restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan, on May 22, 2025 (TVBS via AP)
Alice Huang, founder of Megaspeed International and named in accusations of espionage for China, is in Beijing amid an internal investigation by Nvidia Corp. into her connection with the company's chief executive, Jensen Huang, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg. The sources, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the case, said that Huang currently lives in the Chinese capital with the knowledge of security officials. They did not specify when she traveled to Beijing, the reasons for her move, or the activities she carries out there. The businesswoman's whereabouts, also identified as Huang Le, have generated speculation since Jensen Huang admitted an extramarital affair and Nvidia's board opened an inquiry into accusations linking her to espionage work for China. Beijing denied that Huang was a spy. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while attempts to contact the founder of Megaspeed International also went unanswered on Thursday.
The controversy has affected the markets and could lead to Jensen Huang's removal from the leadership of Nvidia, according to the report. The businesswoman found herself at the center of the case due to her closeness with the chief executive and her company's role in renting advanced chips to Chinese firms. Megaspeed became the largest buyer of Nvidia processors in Southeast Asia, a region that, according to the report, serves as a significant channel for the irregular entry of advanced hardware into the Chinese market. The firm rents Nvidia chips from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. at facilities located in several countries in that region.
Alice Huang talks and greets several attendees inside a crowded hall (AFP)
Alibaba, which faced national security scrutiny in the United States over its alleged ties to the Chinese military, denied those accusations and declined to comment on its commercial relationship with Megaspeed.
Huang founded Megaspeed in 2023, after a career in private equity and television. The company emerged from a spinoff of 7Road Holdings Ltd., one of the largest Chinese groups in the video game sector, just months after then-US President Joe Biden imposed broad restrictions on exports of advanced artificial intelligence chips to China. Before Megaspeed's creation, 7Road sold its Singapore subsidiary to a British Virgin Islands entity called Huang Le Ltd., after which Huang Le took control. In November 2023, that entity sold Megaspeed to a Singaporean shell company. Days after that transaction, Megaspeed obtained the status of official Nvidia Cloud Partner, a designation that allowed it preferential access to chips from the US company. Business records cited in the report show that the company imported products worth more than USD 4.6 billion, more than a thousand times the cash balance it declared in 2023.
Huang began her career in the financial sector. From November 2015 she held the position of deputy general manager of Shanghai Hexi Investment Co., according to posts by the firm on its official WeChat account between late 2016 and early 2017. Previously, she worked at Citic Securities Co. and HSBC Holdings Plc, according to those posts. Representatives of both companies did not respond to requests for comment, while Shanghai Hexi Investment was not immediately available by phone.
(With information from Bloomberg)