The woman at the centre of the Nvidia spying scandal pitched an AI chips deal to China-based investors, touting her ability to secure the US company's coveted GPUs and her commercial relationship with Alibaba. In early 2025, Alice Huang and business partner Kang Wei sought investment for a south-east Asia data centre project worth several hundred million dollars. The pair claimed they had "no problem securing GPUs" and cited Alibaba as a client.
Under current US export controls, it is legal for Chinese companies to lease data centre capacity outside the country, but Chinese ownership of assets with advanced Nvidia GPUs is not allowed. Alice Huang, whose Chinese name is Huang Le, did not disclose a close relationship with Nvidia chief Jensen Huang during the pitch. Huang is also a partner at Hexi Private Equity Partners and was briefly registered as an executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based customer of Nvidia under investigation for alleged chip smuggling.
The allegation of espionage could not be independently verified. Nvidia shares fell 4 per cent in early trading after the board announced an investigation. The New York Times first reported the US believed Jensen Huang had been the target of a Chinese espionage campaign.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the spy allegation groundless, describing it as a smear and defamation.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing