A hand on the back, a kiss on the cheek; the footage of Alice Huang’s interaction with Jensen Huang in a Taipei venue last year does not seem particularly remarkable at first glance.
asserted
footage → seem → glance
But the Nvidia chief executive’s revelation on Sunday that he had an affair with Ms Huang has given it new significance.
asserted
he → give → significance
According to reports, his lover, who is not a relation, was not just an executive at an Nvidia customer.
uncertain
who → accord → customer
She was also an alleged Chinese spy.
asserted
She → allege → ?
Nvidia has now launched an independent investigation into reports that the boss of a cornerstone company in the global AI boom has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort.
asserted
boss → launch → effort
“While the board has no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised, the board’s inquiry will examine all available information,” said the board.
asserted
board → have → information
Huang, 63, a poster boy of the AI boom in his trademark leather jacket, admitted there was “no excuse” for what he had done.
asserted
he → admit → what
Aside from Huang’s dented personal reputation, what is the scale of the damage done to Nvidia and US national security?
asserted
scale → dent → Nvidia
The story started to emerge last year when the New York Times and Bloomberg raised questions about a Singapore-based buyer of Nvidia’s powerful chips, which have become the proverbial shovels in the AI gold rush.
asserted
which → start → rush
There were concerns that Megaspeed was flouting US restrictions on AI chip exports to China by diverting some Nvidia inventory to America’s arch AI rival.
asserted
Megaspeed → be → rival
Nvidia and Megaspeed denied this.
asserted
Nvidia → deny → this
Then last month came a further startling NYT report that Jensen Huang had formed a “close relationship” with Alice Huang, a Megaspeed executive, and that American officials believed she was a Chinese intelligence asset.
asserted
she → come → Huang
Donald Trump had been told, but decided not to act on the information.
asserted
Trump → tell → information
At the heart of the question of what China might have achieved through Alice Huang is the extremely close relationship between the CEO of the world’s second-most-valuable company and the president of the United States.
uncertain
relationship → achieve → States
The New York Times reported on Monday that Nvidia appeared to have successfully leaned on the US commerce department to halt an investigation into potential chip smuggling on the part of Megaspeed.
asserted
Nvidia → report → Megaspeed
That pressure came through a Trump appointee, who allowed Nvidia to reach out about the case.
asserted
Nvidia → come → case
Responding to reports last year that it might have diverted Nvidia deliveries, Megaspeed said: “Megaspeed is a Singapore-based company, operating fully in compliance with all applicable laws, including US export control regulations.”
Trump has met frequently – at least seven times – with the head of Nvidia since the start of his second term.
uncertain
Trump → respond → term
Huang has flown on Air Force One and taken calls from the president during public events.
asserted
Huang → fly → events
Four of their meetings have touched on one of the most sensitive issues in US-China relationships: the controls that the US has put up around the export of the world’s most advanced AI chips, which are almost entirely sold by Nvidia.
asserted
which → touch → Nvidia
Under the former president Joe Biden, the US put in place the Chips Act, a package of rules that introduced sweeping limitations on US tech companies and their overseas trading partners.
asserted
that → put → companies
These rules sought to control what semiconductor technologies US companies could sell to businesses based overseas – particularly those that might be put under pressure to transfer those technologies to China.
uncertain
that → seek → China
It also introduced strict licensing requirements that in turn limited what those partners could do with technology that they bought.
uncertain
they → introduce → that
China was one of the largest markets for its GPU chips – accounting for roughly a quarter of its revenue in the years between 2020 and 2022.
asserted
China → account → 2020
When the Chips Act passed, the company started to sell downgraded versions of its premier chips to China – for example, the A800 and H800.
asserted
company → pass → A800
Some of these were then banned, forcing Nvidia to scramble even more.
asserted
Some → ban → Nvidia
Under Trump, things changed.
asserted
things → change → Trump
The president first invited Huang to the White House just six days after he was inaugurated, to discuss AI policy and chip exports.
asserted
he → invite → policy
The two then met again in July and August of 2025.
asserted
two → meet → 2025
This was followed by victories for Huang – Trump allowed Nvidia to export previously banned chips to China.
asserted
Nvidia → follow → China
Nvidia agreed, in turn, to give the US government 15% of the sales revenue.
asserted
Nvidia → agree → revenue
Experts said the deal would help Beijing compete “on the AI frontier”, in other words develop AI systems to rival those being produced by the likes of Anthropic and OpenAI.
asserted
Beijing → say → Anthropic
Five months later, the tech boss appeared to win another startling concession, days after another meeting with Trump.
asserted
boss → appear → Trump
The president agreed to allow the tech boss to export H200s – a far more powerful chip – to China, in exchange for 25% of the revenue.
asserted
boss → agree → revenue
“President Xi responded positively!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
asserted
Trump → respond → Social
It is not unusual for large technology companies to lobby for their preferred policies in Washington; nor is it unusual for Trump to give access – and favourable deals – to men he likes.
asserted
he → lobby → men
But one more thing is now apparent – during this crucial year for his company, Huang was also intimately involved with a reported Chinese spy.
asserted
Huang → involve → spy
The two were first photographed together in mid-2024.
asserted
two → photograph → mid-2024
Five months after Trump took office is when the two were filmed at the Taipei restaurant.
asserted
two → take → restaurant
This would have been at the height of Huang’s lobbying push, shortly before Trump agreed to let Nvidia sell the H200s.
asserted
Nvidia → agree → H200s
What could Alice Huang have gleaned – and passed on – during this affair?
uncertain
Huang → glean → affair
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
