Nvidia CEO’s China Connection Flagged by Short Seller Months Before Reports
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is facing growing scrutiny following reports linking him to Alice Huang, an alleged Chinese intelligence operative. While the revelations have recently attracted widespread attention, a US-based short-selling firm had raised questions about their association nearly six months earlier.
In May 2026, Culper Research published a report titled “NVIDIA (NVDA): The China Problem.” Although the report did not accuse the Nvidia chief of having an affair or directly allege espionage, it described his relationship with Alice Huang as “uncomfortably close.”
Alice is a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed, a company that purchases computing resources, including advanced chips, and resells computing capacity to clients. Its reported customers included Chinese technology giant Alibaba. US intelligence agencies reportedly suspect that she may have facilitated the transfer of confidential information from Huang to Beijing.
What did the short seller uncover?
Culper Research highlighted two occasions when Jensen and Alice were spotted together. Their first public appearance was photographed in Taipei during Computex in June 2024. Nearly a year later, in May 2025, the two were reportedly filmed having dinner in Taiwan with a Hong Kong executive.
According to the report, Alice appeared reluctant to be seen publicly with Huang during their second outing, which took place weeks after Washington tightened its trade restrictions on China. Although Culper found no evidence of an affair, it questioned the nature of their association.
A famous publication subsequently reported that an intelligence-based memo described the two as romantically involved. It also alleged that Alice had been assigned to persuade Huang to support relaxed export restrictions. However, the reporting did not establish that Huang knew about any alleged intelligence activities. Beijing has denied that Alice was an intelligence asset.
Megaspeed’s financial transactions raise questions
Culper’s investigation also examined Megaspeed’s financial activities. The company’s Singapore balance sheet reportedly increased from approximately $33 million at the end of 2023 to nearly $3 billion a year later. This growth was largely attributed to $2.9 billion in refundable deposits from an unidentified source.
The report suggested that Alibaba-linked funding might have moved through intermediaries to support purchases of Nvidia-powered servers, although it did not establish that such transfers had occurred.
Culper also alleged that Chinese demand continued to account for more than 20 per cent of Nvidia’s FY2026 computing revenue, despite the company reporting zero China data-centre revenue following restrictions introduced in April 2025.
Jensen Huang apologises for affair
Following the reports, Huang acknowledged his affair in a memo addressed to employees.
“I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children,” he wrote. “There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.”
He also said he would cooperate with the investigation and remained committed to protecting Nvidia and supporting American national security.
Nvidia’s board said it had no reason to believe that company secrets or national security had been compromised and expressed confidence in Huang.
Meanwhile, three Republican committee chairs in the US House requested a closed-door briefing with Huang on November 18. US President Donald Trump also defended the Nvidia chief, describing him as a “fine person.”