Nvidia boss target of Chinese espionage: Beijing speaks of “unfounded speculation”

Beijing on Friday described as “unfounded speculation” press reports according to which Jensen Huang, boss of the American semiconductor giant Nvidia, had been the target of a Chinese espionage operation.

“The article in question is based on baseless speculation and is only an attempt to smear China,” said a spokesperson for Chinese Foreign Affairs, Guo Jiakun, during a regular press briefing, in reaction to information from the New York Times. A Chinese manager of the company Megaspeed, based in Singapore, is suspected by the American intelligence services of having operated as an agent of Chinese intelligence, reports the New York Times.

Megaspeed is suspected of having diverted advanced AI chips from Nvidia to China, the newspaper claims, citing anonymous sources close to the investigation. The Chinese manager, Alice Huang, unrelated to the Nvidia boss, had established a close relationship with him, according to the American daily.

“Megaspeed is no different from many other regional cloud customers. There is nothing unusual or surprising about the exchanges between Jensen and Ms. Huang,” Nvidia responded. “Jensen speaks with thousands of executive clients every year,” she added.