Investigations into the scandal involving the American technology giant Nvidia have expanded to the activities of 42-year-old Alice Huang. Her business ties to companies that have worked with Huawei, Nvidia’s main rival in the Chinese market, have raised questions about the role she may have played in trade relations between American and Chinese companies.
Beijing has rejected the espionage allegations. So far, there is no evidence that Nvidia’s microchips were illegally transferred to Huawei.
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An investigation by the private intelligence firm Tesari, published by CNBC, shows that Alice Huang had been a co-owner of the investment company Shanghai Hexi since 2016. Hexi had interests in technology and data centers.
In 2021, Shanghai Hexi acquired a 27% stake in Shanghai Century Longteng and held it until 2024. Longteng controls 50.1% of the Shenzhen Yifeng Technology data center, whose main client was Huawei Cloud.
Hexi had also guaranteed the loans used to finance the unit. Another link runs through Kang Wei, Alice Huang’s husband and the founder of Hexi: in 2022, he took a management position at Longteng and took part in signing the agreement with Huawei.
Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company that rents out computing capacity powered by Nvidia processors, is also under scrutiny by investigators. Alice Huang served as its chief executive from March to November 2023.
Analysts estimate that Megaspeed has become one of the largest buyers of Nvidia microchips in Asia, with purchases exceeding $4 billion. Investigators are verifying whether the network of companies linked to Alice Huang played a role in microchip sales to China, whose value is cited as reaching as much as $7.5 billion.
The developments have also affected Nvidia’s leadership. Jensen Huang, the company’s founder and chief executive, has resigned from his positions after 33 years at the helm of the technology giant. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress is expected to take over on an interim basis, while Harvey Jones will become chairman of the board.
Reuters has also reported that Jensen Huang is suspected of having had a relationship with another company employee. Alice Huang and Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president for healthcare, had previously been mentioned in connection with the story.
Following lawmakers’ requests for explanations, Jensen Huang has agreed to testify behind closed doors before the U.S. Congress. The hearings are expected to be held before committees overseeing foreign policy, intelligence and relations with China.
