Nvidia CEO's alleged spy link enabled $7.5 billion chip shipments to China

A reported relationship between Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and an alleged spy facilitated the shipment of $7.5 billion worth of chips to China, bypassing U.S. export restrictions. The scheme involved around 240,000 chips, including H100, H200, and A100 models. The network centered on Shanghai Century Litong, a Chinese firm founded in June 2023 that gained Nvidia preferred cloud partner status in October, granting priority chip access. Alice Huang, linked to Jensen Huang, leveraged connections with Nvidia and distributors to secure supplies after orders were blocked, with some chips used by Alibaba, Tencent, and smaller AI labs. Alice Huang also held an executive role at Megaspeed, a Singapore-registered firm investigated by U.S. authorities for shipping Nvidia chips from Southeast Asia to China. Hardware acquired by its Malaysian subsidiary Speedmatrix reportedly reached Century Litong, with Huang maintaining ambiguity about her role and avoiding a paper trail.