Report links Alice Huang to $7.5B Nvidia GPU imports

By Grace Kim

About 240,000 restricted Nvidia AI GPUs reportedly reached China with Alice Huang’s help, in purchases valued at an estimated $7.5 billion. The Information attributes the claim to an investigation of Shanghai Century Litong and Singapore-based Megaspeed. Its reporting calls the corporate network a "labyrinth."

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has admitted an affair with Huang, according to The Information. The report also describes her as a suspected spy for China’s Ministry of State Security. Corporate registration records and people familiar with the companies connect Huang with the network. The Chinese embassy denies any link to her. The FBI is investigating. The report does not establish the espionage allegation.

How much hardware reached China?

Most of the 240,000 banned chips were Nvidia H100 and H200 systems, The Information reports. Estimates put Megaspeed-linked imports at $4.6 billion from 2023 through 2025. Another $2 billion moved through Speedmatrix. Megaspeed has previously faced accusations of smuggling $2 billion in Nvidia chips.

Shanghai Century Litong bought GPUs from other sources as well. Huang reportedly helped when those orders ran into trouble. The broader $7.5 billion estimate covers those additional purchases. The report supplies estimated chip values, not Nvidia-disclosed revenue.

Huang reportedly intervened when AI shipments faced delays or supply-chain problems. People familiar with her say she cited her Nvidia relationships to move shipments again. Another associate said she could "always get Nvidia AI chips."

Huang regularly posted photographs of herself and Jensen Huang on WeChat. People familiar with her say she also showed customers other images to establish credibility. Huang claimed that Jensen Huang often celebrated her birthday with dinner and gifts. A Nvidia China sales employee described her as a familiar face at the annual event for local Chinese partners.

How did Huang build the business network?

Huang worked for two media companies in China, although some people say company records do not document that work. She later moved into banking and finance at HSBC, then CITIC Securities. She entered the data center industry in 2023.

Kang Wei, Huang’s husband, met Jensen Huang during the 2010s, one source told The Information. At the time, Nvidia remained primarily a PC gaming GPU manufacturer. Kang Wei then worked in private equity focused on videogame companies. The account suggests their ties predated Megaspeed’s pivot and Shanghai Century Litong’s launch.

Megaspeed was owned by Huang Le Limited and led by Huang when it pivoted in 2023. It sold to Singapore’s Swiftdata soon afterward. Megaspeed then created Speedmatrix, which opened two offices in Johor, Malaysia, a couple of months later.

Shanghai Century Litong launched in June 2023. Its founding shareholder ultimately came under the control of Huang Yu, Alice Huang’s sister. Alice Huang’s Chinese name is Huang Le. The operator supplied compute capacity to Alibaba, Tencent and smaller Chinese AI laboratories.

Why did preferred-partner status matter?

Shanghai Century Litong obtained Nvidia Preferred Cloud Partner status in October 2023, a few months after launch. Nvidia requires such partners to demonstrate that they can operate Nvidia hardware and generate revenue. The revenue threshold varies by region and partner type.

Partners receive better access to Nvidia’s limited chip supply. Nvidia banned sales of its China-specific A800 and H800 accelerators around that period. The ban did not affect stocks already held by distributors. Preferred-partner status gave Shanghai Century Litong priority access to the remaining supply.

Some Megaspeed-purchased Nvidia AI chips went to Shanghai Century Litong’s data centers, according to the same reporting. U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security inspectors found Nvidia hardware still in its boxes at Speedmatrix sites. Those findings triggered a deeper investigation into the company.

The Information alleges that Nvidia intervened in the BIS probe. The company retained its Nvidia partner status, according to the report.

What remains unresolved?

Two people familiar with Huang say she stays vague about her duties at both companies. They also say she signs documents carefully to limit the paper trail. The Information does not establish the espionage allegation.

Continued preferred-partner status would preserve priority access to scarce accelerators, while tighter U.S. enforcement could further restrict H100 and H200 availability for Chinese data centers.