The whereabouts of suspected Chinese spy Alice Huang have become the subject of intense speculation after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admitted to having an affair.
- Alice Huang used a Hong Kong passport to enter Taiwan earlier, the country’s interior minister said.
- The Straits Times reported that she is living in Beijing, citing information from security officials.
- Jensen Huang’s admission of the affair and reports of a second affair with a subordinate have triggered a major crisis for the AI chipmaker.
Taiwan has barred the suspected spy who reportedly had an affair with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang from re-entry into the country, Taipei Times reported on Thursday.
Alice Huang, who also goes by the name Huang Le and formerly worked at computing firm Megaspeed, used a Hong Kong passport to enter Taiwan earlier, the report said, citing the country’s interior minister, Liu Shyh-fang.
“The government’s agencies are fully informed of the relevant records and information,” National Immigration Agency (NIA) Director-General Lin Horng-en told reporters. “We are aware of all her entry and exit records.”
The whereabouts of Alice Huang have become the subject of intense speculation after Jensen Huang admitted to having an affair, which has since ballooned into a major crisis for the executive and the chipmaker. The Straits Times reported on Thursday that she is living in Beijing, citing unnamed security officials.
The development comes as Taiwan tightens its export controls to support Washington in its effort to stop China from accessing advanced U.S. AI technology.
The country added Chinese tech firms Huawei and SMIC to its restricted-entity list last year and recently investigated three people accused of using forged paperwork to route servers containing restricted Nvidia chips to China via Japan.
Meanwhile, The Information reported on Wednesday that the U.S. Commerce Department is finalizing a semiconductor control update that would prevent remote access and chip smuggling into China via data centers.
Who Is Alice Huang?
Also known as Huang Le, the Chinese businesswoman held senior roles at a Shanghai investment firm before becoming the controlling shareholder of Singapore-based cloud-computing company Megaspeed, Reuters reported.
Nvidia lists Megaspeed as an official cloud partner on its directory, according to Reuters. Reports say the company became the largest buyer of Nvidia chips in Southeast Asia.
The New York Times reported last month that Huang had a relationship with Alice Huang, whom U.S. authorities investigated and concluded was a Chinese intelligence asset.
Megaspeed has faced U.S. scrutiny over suspicions that it helped Beijing gain access to Nvidia’s advanced AI chips. On Sunday, Nvidia’s Huang admitted that he was unfaithful to his wife without providing details, which led to a drop in Nvidia’s stock.
Nvidia Fallout
Nvidia’s board has said it has “no reason to believe” U.S. national security or company secrets were compromised, while Beijing has denied any involvement. The Nvidia board has launched an investigation into the matter and is meeting to discuss the future, which may involve removing Huang as Nvidia CEO.
NVDA shares slid about 7% this week through Wednesday’s close and another 7.5% in overnight trading after media reports speculated about a second affair involving Huang and the possibility of his ouster.
Still, the retail sentiment for NVDA on Stocktwits climbed even higher in the ‘extremely bullish’ zone as of early Thursday.
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