Short Seller Flagged Nvidia CEO's Ties to Suspected Chinese Spy Six Months Before Scandal Broke
Six months before the Nvidia spy scandal surfaced, New York-based short seller Culper Research had already raised questions about Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's unusually close relationship with Alice Huang, an executive at Megaspeed—a Singapore-based company that purchases Nvidia chips. She is now suspected of being a Chinese spy.
The Scandal Emerges
Over the weekend, the Nvidia CEO admitted to an extramarital affair, and the company has since opened a formal investigation into his relationship with Alice Huang (who shares his surname but is not related to him). U.S. intelligence officials believe she was recruited by the Chinese government to gather intelligence on Jensen Huang and to influence his stance on U.S. export controls covering advanced AI chips.
Culper's Earlier Warning
Culper's May 13 report is now resurfacing because it identified the connection between Jensen Huang and Alice Huang while investigating Megaspeed's ties to Nvidia. In particular, the report described the relationship between the two executives as "uncomfortably close," noting that the Nvidia CEO was seen partying and socializing with Alice Huang on multiple occasions. The report even claimed that some Nvidia employees wondered whether the two had a "special relationship."
Culper Research also theorized that the China business Nvidia lost to export controls had been rerouted through Southeast Asia, and that Megaspeed—a major chip buyer in the region—was secretly financed by Chinese tech giant Alibaba through shell companies. The firm pointed to financial records showing that Megaspeed's total liabilities and equity had grown from $33 million at the end of 2023 to roughly $3 billion by the end of 2024, much of it in the form of refundable deposits from an unidentified source.
Alibaba Link Corroborated
The Financial Times reported Monday that documents show Alibaba lent money to Megaspeed through subsidiaries—lending weight to Culper's earlier allegation.
Caveats and Disclosures
As a short seller, Culper stood to benefit financially from making these allegations. The claims regarding possible illegal chip diversion have not been independently verified. The full report is available on Culper's website and was originally posted to X in May.
via TechCrunch AI