Nvidia CEO reportedly targeted by Chinese spy

Nvidia CEO reportedly targeted by Chinese spy

Jensen Huang reported to have had close relationship with tech company executive suspected of passing intel to China

US intelligence agencies believe the Nvidia chief executive, Jensen Huang, has been targeted by a Chinese spy who had done business with him, according to a new report by the New York Times.

Alice Huang or Huang Le, of no relation to the Nvidia CEO, is an executive at a Singapore-based datacenter company called Megaspeed. She had previously been suspected of smuggling Nvidia chips to China, prompting American officials to surveil and monitor her. Those officials have determined that she was acting as a Chinese intelligence asset, passing commercial information to Beijing, the New York Times reported, citing unnamed sources.

In the course of their surveillance, American officials determined that Alice Huang developed a close relationship with Nvidia’s CEO, according to the Times. Nvidia’s powerful chips serve as a cornerstone of the AI boom and have vaulted Jensen Huang into one of the most influential leadership positions in the industry. In that position, he has developed a close partnership with Donald Trump as the US government attempts to defend its position as a leader in AI development.

White House officials are reportedly alarmed by Alice Huang’s access to the head of Nvidia precisely because of the close relationship he’s developed with Trump, according to the New York Times.

The Trump administration has imposed restrictions on exports of advanced AI chips to China as a matter of national security. Megaspeed’s Huang was suspected to have been helping the government get around those restrictions.

In a statement to the New York Times, Nvidia said there was nothing out of the ordinary about the Nvidia CEO’s interactions with Alice Huang.

“Meetings with customers are part of a CEO’s job; Jensen talks with thousands of customer executives every year,” the spokesperson said in a statement. Megaspeed and customers like it “receive ordinary business information – not sensitive Nvidia trade secrets – and zero information relevant to national security”.

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Source: www.theguardian.com