Trump did not act on intelligence on alleged China spy close to Nvidia chief

Ars Technica reported new details on the alleged Chinese spy near Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, saying Donald Trump received a briefing around Oct. 2025 on classified U.S. intelligence that China had planted the spy with access to Nvidia chief Jensen Huang, and that Trump chose not to act on it. The report said the allegation comes from unnamed sources briefed on surveillance, and The New York Times granted them anonymity.

Ars Technica said the alleged spy was a Chinese citizen and former executive at Singapore-based cloud firm Megaspeed. The report also said she is not related to Jensen Huang. The report suggested her proximity to Huang may have facilitated espionage and policy influence.

U.S. intelligence had suspected Alice Huang of helping China evade export controls to get advanced Nvidia chips through Megaspeed, the report said. That suspicion grew after officials discovered her potential access to Jensen Huang, Ars Technica reported.

Worries that U.S. steps could hurt Nvidia chip sales or unsettle the trade truce with China drove Trump‘s decision not to act, the report said. Sources said the decision partly reflected a wish to shield Nvidia’s stock and preserve trade ties with China.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in September 2026 that “the president is completely aligned with Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia.” Bessent made the remark ahead of Trump’s AI talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Bessent’s comment drew attention to the close relationship between Trump and Huang.

The alleged espionage plot points to worries about executive security and trust in the AI chip supply chain, especially given earlier suspicions of chip-smuggling through Megaspeed and Singapore. The U.S. has faced repeated challenges enforcing export controls on advanced AI chips, including earlier allegations of smuggling through intermediaries such as Megaspeed. The report links the espionage claims to wider pressure on Nvidia over export controls, showing how spying exposes supply-chain trust. Megaspeed, based in Singapore, has been implicated in allegations that it helped China circumvent U.S. export restrictions.