Trump Says FBI Is Looking Into Nvidia CEO's Affair; U.S. Officials, via NYT, Call the Woman a Chinese Spy

Status: President Trump's remarks are on the record. The characterization of Alice Huang as a Chinese intelligence asset is attributed to U.S. officials as reported by the New York Times. Jensen Huang has not been accused of wrongdoing in the coverage reviewed here. The FBI declined to comment to the BBC.

President Trump said Monday that he had spoken with Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang after reports about Huang's affair with Megaspeed executive Alice Huang. "I asked him that question, 'Did you have any idea she was a spy?' He said 'I had no idea she was a spy' and I really believe him," Trump told reporters, the BBC, CNBC, and NBC News reported. At a White House briefing, Trump said: "I know the FBI is looking into it, in terms of something else, and I think that he'll be in good shape." He also called Huang an "honourable guy," the BBC reported. Those are Trump's words about an FBI inquiry; the FBI itself declined to comment when the BBC asked.

U.S. intelligence officials believe Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, is a spy for Beijing, the New York Times reported, as relayed by the BBC. She is a Megaspeed executive and is not related to Jensen Huang. According to the Times, as summarized by the BBC, Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a memo to senior officials last spring warning that the Nvidia chief was in a close relationship with a person U.S. officials believed to be a Chinese spy. AFNS is repeating that official characterization as attributed reporting, not as an independent finding.

The chip-smuggling investigation

Separately, NBC News, citing a source familiar with the matter, reported that the Justice Department's National Security Division, the FBI, and the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security are conducting a criminal investigation of Megaspeed, a Singapore-based firm, over suspected smuggling of Nvidia artificial-intelligence chips into China, which would violate U.S. export controls. NBC said the probe is also looking at people tied to the company, including Alice Huang, and at whether she was recruited to assist that smuggling. The coverage reviewed for this story does not say Jensen Huang is a target of that criminal investigation.

U.S. controls on advanced AI chips bound for China are a live national-security and export-enforcement issue. Whether Megaspeed violated those rules is a question for the investigation, not a finding stated here.

Nvidia's board has opened an independent investigation. The company said it had no reason to believe its secrets or national security were compromised, the BBC reported. On Sunday, Jensen Huang said he had been "unfaithful to my wife" and apologized to employees, NBC reported.

China's response

Beijing rejected the spy allegations. China's foreign ministry said they were "entirely groundless, speculative and intended to smear and malign China," the BBC reported.