NYT: China's State Security Recruited Alice Huang to Spy on NVIDIA CEO
The reported operation sought information on US AI plans and aimed to sway Jensen Huang on chip export permissions, according to The New York Times.
China's Ministry of State Security recruited Alice Huang to gather information on NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, The New York Times reported. The recruitment was part of China's efforts to learn about US artificial intelligence plans, according to the report.
The report states that China hoped Alice Huang could influence Jensen Huang to help obtain US permission to ship advanced chips to China. Alice Huang is an executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore data center firm and NVIDIA customer.
The Financial Times reported that US officials believe Jensen Huang was romantically involved with Alice Huang. According to the report, Jensen Huang was not briefed that he was being targeted by the Chinese government.
Trump and select US officials were notified of the intelligence before his trip to Beijing, and Trump took no action, according to the report.
Earlier reporting
In late October, The New York Times reported that China used Alice Huang, an executive at Megaspeed, to spy on the NVIDIA CEO. The Financial Times reported that Megaspeed was implicated in a scheme to smuggle advanced AI chips into China, but an NVIDIA internal investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing.
Quick answers
Who is Alice Huang?
Alice Huang is an executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore data center firm and NVIDIA customer. The New York Times reported that China's Ministry of State Security recruited her to gather information on NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang.
Was Jensen Huang told he was a target?
According to the report, Jensen Huang was not briefed that he was being targeted by the Chinese government.
Did the US government know before Trump's Beijing trip?
The report states that Trump and select US officials were notified of the intelligence before his trip to Beijing, and Trump took no action.