- The mere suggestion that he was somehow compromised by a Chinese intelligence agent could quickly become a major, bipartisan concern in the next Congress.
What they say: Sen. Chris Coons (Del.) promised an investigation into the latest Times report and Huang’s dealings.
- “The more I learn about the insane relationship between the Trump administration, Chinese spies and AI billionaires, the more I am convinced that there is nothing this administration does that is not corrupt. Congress will investigate and get answers,” Coons posted on X, linking in another post to the Times article.
Catch up quickly: A series of reports over the past 10 days have raised concerns about an allegedly illicit relationship with an undercurrent of espionage.
- October 29: The New York Times reported that Jensen Huang and a technology executive named Alice Huang had a “close relationship,” that U.S. officials were concerned about his intelligence ties to China, and that President Trump had been briefed on the situation.
- October 31: The Wall Street Journal reported that the intelligence services of the United States, Singapore and Taiwan all had reason to believe that Alice Huang might be a Chinese spy.
- November 5: A group of House Republican committee chairmen have asked Jensen Huang to give them insight into his relationship with Alice Huang and Nvidia’s controls over sensitive information, saying they need to determine “the extent to which U.S. national security has been put at risk.”
- November 6: The New York Times and Financial Times reported that Alice Huang was actually a Chinese spy, recruited by senior intelligence officials specifically to spy on Jensen Huang. His presumed objective: to convince him to put pressure on the American authorities to authorize exports of chips to China.
- The FT also reported that Jensen Huang and Alice Huang were romantically involved.
For the record: Nvidia has repeatedly and strongly denied that Jensen Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang was anything but a typical business contact, and insisted that no sensitive information was allegedly shared with her or anyone else.
- The company did not respond to Axios’ request for comment on Saturday.
- The Chinese government has also publicly denied collaborating with Alice Huang to spy on Jensen Huang.
The big picture: President Trump and his administration have bet on the country’s future by beating China in the race to develop and control advanced AI.
- Nvidia’s chips are at the heart of this vision, and Jensen Huang has been close to Trump throughout this term.
- There has been some back and forth over whether or not Nvidia’s chips could be sold to China, but there have also been numerous reports that these chips are being made to Chinese companies regardless.
What’s next: The Republican chairmen who requested a briefing from Jensen Huang gave him until November 11 to set a date for their meeting.
Gn bussni
