Key facts
- Trump reportedly ignored intelligence about a Chinese national allegedly spying on Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
- The alleged spy, Alice Huang, may have used her access to Jensen Huang to feed intel to China.
- Trump's inaction was partly motivated by fears of impacting Nvidia's stock and a US-China trade truce.
- Nvidia stated Jensen Huang did not receive a defensive briefing due to concerns he might tip off the alleged spy.
President Donald Trump reportedly chose not to act on intelligence indicating that a Chinese national with direct access to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was feeding secrets to Beijing. The New York Times reported that Trump's decision was partly influenced by concerns about protecting Nvidia's stock and maintaining a US-China trade truce.
According to sources briefed on classified intelligence, Trump was informed about a year ago that Beijing was receiving reports from Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen and former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed. US investigators suspected Alice Huang of helping China evade export controls for high-end Nvidia chips and potentially using her access to Jensen Huang to feed intel to China and influence Trump's AI policy.
Nvidia has denied that Alice Huang had access to trade secrets and stated that Jensen Huang did not receive a defensive briefing, possibly due to fears he might alert her. The Chinese Embassy in Washington dismissed the US accusations as baseless smears.