Chinese exec was recruited to spy on Nvidia CEO, according to US intelligence memo

A memo circulated earlier this year claimed that technology executive Alice Huang was recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security to spy on Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, according to multiple media reports.

The New York Times, which had previously said Nvidia’s chief executive had been the target of Chinese intelligence, was the first to report on the memo, which was reportedly based on U.S. intelligence. The Financial Times subsequently reported that the memo also claimed Jensen Huang had a romantic relationship with Alice Huang, an executive at a Singapore-based company called Megaspeed.

An Nvidia spokesperson told the NYT that Jensen Huang’s interactions with Alice Huang were “not unusual,” and that the company does not share classified information with its customers.

A separate NYT report examined New Matrix, a Chinese company authorized by the U.S. Commerce Department to buy advanced Nvidia chips. But at the office address listed by New Matrix, reporters only found “a hollow gray shell,” raising concerns that it could be a front for a blacklisted private equity firm.

The Nvidia spokesperson said the company sells “the first, best and most of our technology in America.”