Short seller flagged Jensen Huang's 'uncomfortably close' China ties in May

Culper Research, a short seller named after George Washington's Revolutionary War spy ring, flagged Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's "uncomfortably close relationship" with alleged Chinese spy Alice Huang months before the affair reports surfaced. Its May 2026 report, titled "NVIDIA (NVDA): The China Problem," did not allege an affair. It alleged something investors arguably cared about more: that Nvidia's most important growth region sat on foundations the company's own CEO had personally vouched for.

The report zeroed in on Megaspeed, the Singapore-based chip buyer where Alice Huang worked. Culper alleged that Megaspeed was financed by Alibaba through shell companies, and that Chinese firms were still obtaining Nvidia's advanced AI chips through diversion from buyers across Southeast Asia — despite U.S. export controls designed to block exactly that.

What did the short seller actually say?

Culper's language was blunt. "Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has not only vouched for Megaspeed, but seems to have quite literally walked alongside Megaspeed at every step, while maintaining an uncomfortably close relationship with Megaspeed's Alice Huang, a Chinese national," the firm wrote.

The stakes here are not merely personal. Washington has imposed export controls specifically to keep advanced AI chips out of China, and Nvidia's compliance with that regime is now entangled with questions about its CEO's private conduct. Culper disclosed that it was short Nvidia stock — a bet against the company — because of these China ties amid escalating geopolitical tension between the U.S. and China.

Megaspeed matters because of its scale. According to the report, it is the largest buyer of Nvidia's chips in Southeast Asia. It has also faced investigations by U.S. regulators and by authorities in Singapore, the report noted.

How close were Huang and Megaspeed?

The report documented sightings of Jensen Huang and Alice Huang together in June 2024 and May 2025. It went further, quoting a Megaspeed employee who described the access in unusually specific terms.

"Jensen visits Megaspeed-linked data centers 'every few months' and 'every single time' he visits, he is accompanied by representatives from Alibaba," the employee said, according to Culper's report.

That detail cuts to the heart of the national security question. If the CEO of America's dominant AI chipmaker was making recurring visits to facilities tied to a company allegedly financed by Alibaba — with Alibaba representatives present each time — regulators and investors would want to know what was discussed, and what was disclosed.

The Megaspeed employee characterized the company's relationship with Jensen as "very close." That account, the report said, corroborated a suggestion from a former Nvidia employee that Nvidia staff had wondered whether there was a special relationship between the CEO and the company.

What has happened since?

The affair reports surfaced, Nvidia shares fell after an investigation into the CEO's relationship with the alleged Chinese spy was announced, and Huang himself addressed the matter publicly over the weekend.

"I was unfaithful to my wife and I am deeply sorry for my actions," Huang said in a statement that did not elaborate on the relationship. He said he fell short of his responsibilities to Nvidia and that he wants to earn back the confidence of those associated with the company.

The statement went beyond personal contrition. Huang acknowledged the national security concerns raised in reports about his relationship with Alice Huang and pledged to support and cooperate fully with the board of directors' investigation.

"I love our country and our company. I am committed to protecting Nvidia and supporting America's national security," Huang said.

China, for its part, has denied any spy plot targeting the Nvidia CEO, calling the allegations a "smear."

What does the board investigation cover?

Nvidia's board of directors opened an independent investigation into the matter. It will be led by a committee of independent directors, assisted by independent outside counsel.

The board has already staked out a preliminary position — one that leaves the hard questions open.

"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," the directors said in a statement.

That framing matters. The board is distinguishing between a personal affair, which is damaging but survivable, and the possibility that proprietary technology or national security information was exposed — a distinction that will determine whether this becomes a corporate crisis or a geopolitical one.

Why the case resonates beyond Nvidia

Security analysts have highlighted the broader risk: the Nvidia case illustrates what they describe as "honeypot" schemes targeting corporate executives, in which foreign intelligence services cultivate personal relationships with people holding access to sensitive technology.

Nvidia occupies a singular position in that threat model. Its chips power the AI systems the U.S. government is trying to keep out of Chinese hands, and export enforcement depends heavily on trusting where those chips actually end up. Culper's core allegation — that diversion through Southeast Asian buyers is still funneling advanced chips to Chinese firms — now sits alongside questions about the CEO's own conduct toward a Chinese national employed by one of those buyers.

The timeline is the story's sharpest edge. A short seller with money on the line published a detailed account of Huang's Megaspeed ties in May 2026, complete with employee testimony and documented sightings. Only afterward did the affair reports, the share decline, and the board investigation follow. Whatever the independent directors conclude, the record now shows the warning signs were on paper — and in the market — before the scandal broke.