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Rubio oversaw classified memo to warn top US officials about Nvidia CEO's affair with suspected Chinese spy: Report
Marco Rubio's involvement reportedly highlighted how concerns over Jensen Huang's relationship with the woman were known to senior officials.
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US secretary of state Marco Rubio had warned top Trump administration officials about Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's close relationship with a suspected Chinese spy, according to a report that surfaced after the tech star admitted to having an affair with the woman.
The matter came to light on November 7 when the New York Times reported that Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen working as a senior executive at a Singapore-based company Megaspeed International, had become close to Jensen Huang and was working for a Chinese spy agency.
A classified memo was drafted earlier this year warning top US officials that Huang was in a close relationship with a woman who had been recruited to spy for China’s top intelligence agency. Rubio oversaw the drafting of the memo, people briefed on the matter told NYT.
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Rubio's involvement highlighted how concerns over Jensen Huang's relationship with the woman were known to senior officials as the Nvidia CEO remained an influential voice with Trump over policy on artificial intelligence.
The state secretary's memo was circulated to administration officials with high-level security clearances ahead of Trump's visit to China in May. Jensen Huang was initially left off the list of major business and tech executives invited to join Trump to China, despite his status as an AI pioneer.
Who is Alice Huang?
As per the report, Alice Huang was working as a senior executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed International that was buying Nvidia’s advanced AI chips and being investigated for illegally smuggling them into China. US intelligence told the Trump administration that it believed Alice Huang was hired by the agency to collect information from Huang on behalf of Beijing’s ministry of state security.
Alice Huang's professional background includes reported stints in television, banking and investment management, including China Central Television (CCTV), China's state broadcaster, and the Shanghai Banking Corporation, according to a profile attributed to her in a Chinese private-fund database, cited by the NYT and the New York Post.
She spoke English well and had relationships with executives at the highest levels of the AI industry, including the Nvidia CEO and leaders of Gigabyte, one of the top assemblers of Nvidia supercomputers, according to people who know her. Jensen and Alice were photographed together with other industry executives at a bar in Taipei in 2024.
Trump was briefed roughly a year ago that the US intelligence community had electronic surveillance of Alice Huang, believed to be an operative working for China's intelligence services, being in a close relationship with a US citizen, according to a previous NYT report. Despite the citizen being Jensen Huang, Trump chose not to take any action at the point as he viewed Nvidia’s chips as integral to America’s competition with China in AI.
Jensen Huang's admission
On Sunday, Jensen Huang sent an email to Nvidia employees admitting that the allegations of affair being made against him are true. He stressed that he is “fully committed to Nvidia” and "will work to earn back your confidence."
"I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry," he said.
When asked about Jensen's admission, Trump said he did not regret his own lack of action and said the former should stay on as Nvidia's chief executive. "I think he’s an honorable guy. I think he probably has an excuse for it. You have to hear it," he said.
Meanwhile, Nvidia's Board of Directors released a statement on Sunday, November 8, saying that they are "initiating an independent investigation in light of recent reporting that CEO Jensen Huang has been the target of a foreign intelligence 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. Jensen fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating with it.”
