Lawmakers from both parties are pressing for investigations into Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang over his reported relationship with a woman U.S. intelligence has identified as a Chinese spy, according to CNBC. Some are also asking what the Trump administration knew about the matter and when it learned it.
The scrutiny follows a New York Times report that a memo reached Trump administration officials last spring containing intelligence that identified Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen and executive at Singapore-based tech firm Megaspeed, as someone recruited by China's Ministry of State Security. The memo also disclosed her connection to Nvidia's CEO, the Times reported.
Why it matters
Nvidia sits at the center of U.S. export controls on advanced artificial intelligence chips, and Megaspeed has been suspected by the U.S. of helping China get around prohibitions on AI chip sales. The allegations therefore touch both national security and the leadership of the world's most valuable chipmaker, which is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings on Nov. 17.
Republicans request a closed-door briefing
Three Republican committee chairs in the House sent Huang a letter on Wednesday asking him to brief lawmakers behind closed doors on Nov. 18, the day after Nvidia's earnings report. The lawmakers wrote that recent reports "raise significant national security concerns regarding the [People's Republic of China's] access to sensitive U.S. technology and information," according to CNBC.
Fox Business reported that House Republicans are demanding answers from the Nvidia CEO over the reported Chinese spy ties.
Democrats widen the questions
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., posted on X on Saturday that the more he learns about the relationship between the Trump administration, Chinese spies and AI billionaires, the more convinced he is that nothing the administration does is free of corruption. He added that Congress will investigate and get answers. Coons is in line to chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when Democrats take control of the chamber in January.
Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, called for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to appear before Congress alongside Huang, CNBC reported.
Separately, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, shared a Times article published Saturday reporting that the Trump administration cleared a Chinese firm, New Matrix, to assemble Nvidia chips in Beijing. According to the Times, there was little evidence of meaningful operations at the firm's listed address, even though Trump's Commerce Department had vetted it for national security risks.
Bloomberg reported that Nvidia's AI chip exports are emerging as a target in the Democratic-controlled Congress.
Nvidia's response
Asked by the Times whether Huang would appear before lawmakers, Nvidia spokesman John Rizzo declined to comment, CNBC reported. Rizzo said the CEO travels with a strong security team and that Huang's interactions with Alice Huang were in line with the meetings he holds with any Nvidia customer.
Neither Nvidia nor the Commerce Department immediately responded to CNBC's request for comment.
What to watch: whether Huang agrees to the Nov. 18 briefing, and whether Lutnick is called to testify.
