Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Faces Bipartisan Congressional Scrutiny Over Reported China Spy Link

Lawmakers from both parties are pressing for investigations into Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's reported relationship with an alleged Chinese intelligence operative, with a closed-door congressional briefing requested for Nov. 18 — one day after the company is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings.

The scrutiny follows reporting by The New York Times that U.S. intelligence officials identified Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen and executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based technology company, as having been recruited by China's Ministry of State Security. According to that reporting, policymakers in the Trump administration received a memo last spring detailing her intelligence ties and her relationship with Nvidia's chief executive.

Megaspeed has been suspected by U.S. officials of helping China circumvent restrictions on artificial intelligence chip sales.

Three Republican House committee chairs sent a letter to Huang on Wednesday requesting his appearance for a joint closed-door briefing. "Recent reports raise significant national security concerns regarding the [People's Republic of China's] access to sensitive U.S. technology and information," the GOP lawmakers wrote in the letter.

Democratic lawmakers have also raised alarms. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., posted on X on Saturday: "The more I learn about the insane relationship between the Trump Administration, Chinese spies, and AI billionaires, the more I'm convinced there is nothing this administration does that isn't corrupt. Congress will investigate and get answers." Coons is in line to chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when his party takes control of the chamber in January.

Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., who sits on the House Committee on Homeland Security, called on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify before Congress alongside Huang.

Nvidia has pushed back on the framing of the relationship. Nvidia spokesman John Rizzo said in a statement to the Times that Huang's interactions with Alice Huang were consistent with meetings he has had with any of the company's customers, adding that no sensitive trade secrets or national-security information were shared. When asked whether Huang would appear before lawmakers, Rizzo declined to comment, but noted that "our chief executive has an outstanding security team that accompanies him where needed."

Neither Nvidia nor the Commerce Department immediately responded to requests for comment on the matter.

A separate layer of scrutiny emerged around the Trump administration's own conduct. Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn called it "outrageous" after the Times reported that the Commerce Department had approved a Chinese firm, New Matrix, to assemble chips for Nvidia in Beijing — despite investigators finding little evidence of meaningful operations at the company's listed address. The Commerce Department's clearance of New Matrix on national security grounds drew sharp reaction from both parties.

The developments arrive at a particularly sensitive moment for Nvidia, whose chips sit at the center of the global AI arms race and have been subject to escalating U.S. export control measures targeting China. Congressional pressure from both parties — often at odds on technology policy — signals that the national security dimensions of AI chip supply chains are drawing rare bipartisan alignment.

Whether Huang ultimately appears before the Nov. 18 briefing, and what the Commerce Department discloses about its New Matrix review, are likely to shape the trajectory of congressional action in the weeks ahead.

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