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President Donald Trump said on Monday that he had spoken with Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, who told him he had "absolutely no idea" that the woman at the center of an alleged Chinese spying operation was a spy — and Trump said he believed him.
"He said he had absolutely no idea that the person in question was a spy. I asked him that question. Did you have any idea that she was a spy? He said I had no idea that she was a spy, and I really believe him," Trump said at a White House briefing on Monday. Trump called Huang a "very high quality person" and an "amazing guy" who was "suffering greatly," and said: "I just hope there's no problem."
Trump also said the FBI was looking into the matter. "I know the FBI is looking into it in terms of something else, and I think that he'll be in good shape," he said. Trump had already defended Huang on Sunday, telling reporters: "I haven't heard he's done anything wrong," and "I think he's an honorable guy. I think he probably has an excuse for it. You have to hear it." He added then: "I hope everything's fine then. He's done such an incredible job." Trump said on Sunday that he had not spoken to Huang about the matter; on Monday he said he had called him to check on him.
The controversy centers on Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen and senior executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data center company that is one of Nvidia's biggest customers in Southeast Asia. The New York Times reported on October 29 that U.S. intelligence agencies had determined Alice Huang — who is not related to Jensen Huang — was recruited by China's Ministry of State Security and was feeding information to Beijing, and that she had developed a close personal relationship with the Nvidia chief. The operation dated back to at least 2024, according to the report.
The Times also reported that U.S. officials believe Megaspeed has been helping smuggle restricted advanced Nvidia chips into China, and that Alice Huang's task included trying to persuade Nvidia to make its most advanced chips available to China. Singaporean authorities questioned her in 2025 and released her without charge. She has not been charged with any crime. China has dismissed the spying allegations as "groundless speculation."
On Sunday, November 8, Huang told Nvidia employees in a memo that he had been unfaithful to his wife. "I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children," he wrote, without naming the woman. The same day, Nvidia's board announced an independent investigation into whether Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort. The board said it had "no reason to believe" that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised, and Huang, 63, will remain chief executive during the inquiry.
Three Republican House committee chairmen — Brian Mast of Florida, John Moolenaar of Michigan and Rick Crawford of Arkansas — have asked Huang to appear for a closed-door briefing on November 18, citing "significant national security concerns regarding the PRC's access to sensitive U.S. technology and information." Huang has been asked to accept the date or propose an alternative by November 11. The Times reported on Monday that Rubio oversaw the drafting of a highly classified memo this spring warning top administration officials about Huang's relationship with Alice Huang, based on electronic surveillance of her, and that the memo was circulated ahead of Trump's May trip to China for a summit with President Xi Jinping. Trump was briefed on the intelligence roughly a year ago and chose not to act.
The fallout continued on Monday. Nvidia shares fell about 5 percent, and Huang pulled out of the ElevenLabs Summit scheduled for Wednesday in New York and other speaking engagements, including the Anthropic CEO Forum. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, departing Sunday for a Group of Seven meeting in Paris, said he could not address the situation with Huang.