NYT: China's Spy Agency Recruited a Megaspeed Executive to Gather Intelligence on Nvidia's Jensen Huang
Nvidia’s CEO is reportedly the target of a ‘Chinese spy plot’ for intelligence on American AI chips.
Context
If the report holds, it ties China's intelligence service to efforts to learn about, and influence access to, America's most advanced AI chips, and Congress is already asking Nvidia's CEO for answers.
The Verge, citing The New York Times, reports that China's Ministry of State Security recruited Megaspeed executive Alice Huang to gather information about American AI chips and potentially push Nvidia to make its most advanced chips available to China. Megaspeed is an Nvidia customer. Three House committees have asked Jensen Huang, who is not related to her, to appear for a joint closed-door briefing on his interactions with her. The NYT first reported the alleged plot on Oct 29, and China called that report groundless. Later Friday, Bloomberg, citing the Times, reported that US intelligence officials told the Trump administration that a woman who had become close to Huang was working for a Chinese spy agency, which recruited her to collect information on him. The scan found no Nvidia confirmation.
What to expect next
Watch whether Jensen Huang agrees to the closed-door briefing, what Nvidia says publicly, and whether the report feeds the debate over AI chip sales to China.