Firms Tied to Alice Huang Put $14M Into DeepSeek Amid Nvidia Export Probe

Companies linked to Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang invested roughly 95 million yuan, about $14 million, in DeepSeek while reportedly offering the AI developer access to Nvidia Blackwell processors that U.S. export controls bar from China. The findings come from a November 12, 2026 investigation by The Information, published on the same day Jensen Huang resigned as Nvidia's chief executive.

The investment runs through two entities: Century Litong, a Chinese cloud computing company founded in 2023, and its Shanghai-listed parent, Jiangsu Lettall Electronics. Both participated in DeepSeek's second fundraising round, which took place between July and October. Corporate records reviewed by The Information show that Jiangsu Lettall committed the 95 million yuan through an investment vehicle set up by Beijing-based Monolith Management. The full amount invested by Huang-linked companies remains undisclosed.

The stated purpose, according to the report, was twofold: strengthen commercial ties with DeepSeek and secure access to Nvidia's Blackwell AI processors.

How did the investment reach DeepSeek?

DeepSeek's second financing round raised approximately 105.5 billion yuan, equivalent to $15.8 billion, and valued the company at about $92 billion. Nearly 30 investors joined the round, including Tencent and the battery manufacturer CATL.

The Information reports that DeepSeek employees encouraged investors to bring in companies associated with Alice Huang, because of their reported ability to supply Nvidia processors through unauthorized channels. The deals were structured through special-purpose vehicles, so the participating companies never appeared directly on DeepSeek's shareholder register. One of those vehicles, managed by Monolith Management, became DeepSeek's third-largest investor after the round closed.

The scale of the underlying chip flows is substantial. According to The Information, Litong-related companies have imported roughly 240,000 Nvidia processors worth at least $7.5 billion into China since 2023. Century Litong itself obtained preferred cloud partner status with Nvidia shortly after its founding, despite being less than a year old at the time.

One gap remains in the record: the investigation could not establish whether the processors allegedly promised to DeepSeek were ever delivered.

What is Alice Huang's actual role?

Alice Huang did not personally hold shares or executive positions in either Century Litong or Jiangsu Lettall. The Information traced her connections through corporate transactions and family relationships rather than direct ownership.

Her earlier career adds context. Huang previously held an executive position at Singapore-based Megaspeed International, a company that provides Nvidia-powered computing infrastructure. Earlier investigations had already questioned whether commercial arrangements involving Megaspeed and related firms facilitated access to restricted processors. Huang has also been accused of having ties to Chinese intelligence, but those allegations remain unproven. China has rejected the espionage claims, and Megaspeed has denied any wrongdoing.

Why did Jensen Huang resign?

Jensen Huang resigned as Nvidia CEO on November 12, 2026, the same day The Information published its findings, amid investigations into his relationship with Alice Huang and potential national security concerns. Nvidia's board has launched its own independent investigation into the controversy.

U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed on November 12 that the Justice Department has not determined whether Huang was acting as a Chinese intelligence agent. That question remains open at the federal level.

What does this mean for export controls?

The disclosures land at a moment when Chinese AI companies are scrambling for computing capacity as American export restrictions tighten. The Huang-linked investments illustrate a structural weakness in semiconductor oversight: complex ownership structures and overseas computing relationships can make technology transfers difficult to monitor, even when the chips themselves are formally restricted.

A 240,000-processor import trail, valued at a minimum of $7.5 billion, suggests the enforcement gap is not marginal. Whether the Nvidia board's independent investigation, and the Justice Department's still-undetermined counterintelligence review, force changes in how export controls track cloud partners and special-purpose investment vehicles will shape the next phase of this story.