She was building a career in Chinese finance before moving into technology, taking a management role at a data center company in Singapore. He is the leading CEO of Nvidiathe Californian company that manufactures computer chips on which advanced artificial intelligence systems are based.
An affair between Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Alice Huang, who was allegedly suspected of working as a spy for Beijing, was shook the technological and political worlds.
The Chinese businesswoman also known as Huang Le had a close relationship with Jensen Huang, according to reports from The New York Times last month. The newspaper also reported that top policymakers were told in a memo that intelligence indicated she was a spy for China’s Ministry of State Security, recruited to influence Nvidia to make its most advanced chips more available in China.
In a widely shared photo of the couple, Jensen Huang and people around him are enjoying drinks in Taipei, while Alice Huang sits behind him, seemingly watching him in conversation. The photo was published in 2024 by software company NetThunder on its LinkedIn page.
It’s unclear how long the affair lasted and when exactly the relationship might have ended. The Associated Press was unable to reach Alice Huang for comment.
Who is Alice Huang
Publicly available information about Alice Huang is scarce.
She was a Chinese CFO before moving into artificial intelligence, data centers and computer chips.
In 2023, she became director of Singapore-based Megaspeed, which describes itself as an “NVIDIA cloud partner.” Last year, Megaspeed is under intense scrutiny from the United States for allegedly circumventing US export restrictions and funneling a large quantity of advanced Nvidia chips to Chinese users.
Megaspeed was incorporated in 2015 in Singapore as 7Road International, after being spun off as the overseas arm of a Chinese video game developer, according to company registration documents.
Records show that in March 2023, it renamed itself Megaspeed International and all shares were transferred to Huang Le Limited, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands.
The same month, Alice Huang became Megaspeed’s majority shareholder, according to a study conducted by C4ADS, a Washington-based nonprofit focused on global security.
But by November 2023, she was no longer listed as a director of Megaspeed and all her shares were transferred to a Singaporean businessman, Tan Yong Pong, also known as James Tan.
While public records suggest that Alice Huang has left Megaspeed, short seller Culper Research released a report in May of this year quoting a Megaspeed employee as saying that Huang was “effectively still our boss” and was still involved in the company’s day-to-day operations.
Before Megaspeed, Alice Huang held senior positions at Chinese firm Shanghai Hexi Investment Co. from around 2015 to 2017, according to social media posts and records from Simuwang, a Chinese private equity database.
His roles at Hexi included deputy general manager, executive director and investment committee member, according to Hexi’s social media posts, among other possible roles.
Hexi founder Kang Wei, who appeared on some filings alongside Alice Huang, was fined 400,000 yuan ($60,000) in 2018 by China’s securities regulator for financial misconduct, while Hexi was fined 17.7 million yuan ($2.7 million).
Prior to this, Alice Huang worked in the private banking arm of HSBC in Hong Kong and at CITIC Securities, a Chinese investment bank.
HSBC and CITIC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his employment history.
Beijing has refuted claims that Alice Huang was a Chinese spy. Its Foreign Ministry said this week that “allegations of Chinese espionage are unfounded. They are nothing more than smears against China.”
Why Megaspeed is at the center of controversy
With the emergence of the latest scandal, Singapore-based AI computing company Megaspeed, where Alice Huang was a senior executive, is once again in the spotlight.
Megaspeed, an Nvidia customer, was initially incorporated in 2015 before changing its name to Megaspeed International in 2023. Nvidia lists Megaspeed as a partner on its website, while Megaspeed says on its website that it is “a primary business partner of NVIDIA’s computing power cloud business in the Asia Pacific region.”
It was the overseas gaming arm of Shenzhen-based developer 7Road Holdings Ltd.
Late last year, Megaspeed denied accusations following reports that it was moving Nvidia chips to China, saying in a statement on its website that “there was no evidence of violations regarding the illicit transfer of chips or illegal activities.”
The Singapore government said in late October, after new reports that Alice Huang was accused of being a Chinese intelligence source, that authorities were investigating Megaspeed and that Singapore “does not tolerate companies” circumventing or violating other countries’ export controls. However, he added, no investigation has been carried out regarding Alice Huang.
Megaspeed did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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