Nvidia Denies Executive-Client Ties Pose Security Risk After NYT Report on Chinese Intelligence Concerns

Nvidia (NVDA) on Thursday dismissed a New York Times report that U.S. intelligence agencies are monitoring a person close to CEO Jensen Huang over possible ties to Chinese intelligence, saying Huang's client interactions are routine and customers cannot access company trade secrets or national security information. The Times, citing people familiar with the surveillance, reported that Alice Huang, linked to Singapore cloud provider Megaspeed, developed a close relationship with Jensen Huang that drew scrutiny. The report said U.S. officials worry she may help Beijing obtain Nvidia information and noted the CEO's access to President Trump. An Nvidia spokesperson told CNBC that Megaspeed is one of many regional cloud customers and that Huang speaks with thousands of customers annually. The company said earlier Megaspeed transshipment allegations tied to circumventing U.S. AI chip export controls were thoroughly investigated and refuted last year. Nvidia said it recognized about $4.5 billion in impairment last year on China-specific AI chips, underscoring export restrictions' impact.