China rejects Jensen Huang spying allegations as 'baseless vilification'
Synopsis
Beijing has called allegations that it targeted Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in a spy operation 'entirely baseless vilification' — but the denial lands as Nvidia's own board has opened a formal investigation. At the centre of the case is Megaspeed, a Singapore-based Nvidia partner with links to a Chinese gaming firm, accused of illegally funnelling restricted chips to China. With US export controls under strain and AI supremacy on the line, the stakes extend well beyond one executive.
Key Takeaways
China's Foreign Ministry on 9 November 2026 called allegations that it spied on Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang 'entirely baseless vilification and smearing.' Nvidia's board has opened a formal investigation into reports that Huang 'has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort.' Megaspeed , a Singapore-based AI data centre firm and Nvidia Asia-Pacific partner, denied allegations it illegally shipped Nvidia chips to China.
US and Malaysian authorities, as well as Nvidia, reportedly found no evidence of wrongdoing during inspections of Megaspeed's operations.
A US probe reportedly identified Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang , formerly a senior executive at Megaspeed, as the alleged operative targeting Jensen Huang.
Megaspeed was previously registered as 7Road International , with reported links to Chinese gaming company 7Road .
China on Monday, 9 November 2026 flatly rejected claims that it had mounted an intelligence operation targeting Jensen Huang, chief executive of US chip giant Nvidia, calling the allegations 'entirely baseless vilification and smearing.' The denial came days after Nvidia's board announced a formal investigation into reports that its 'founder and CEO Jensen Huang has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort.'
Beijing's Official Denial
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun addressed the issue at a press conference, stating: 'We have responded to this matter previously. The narrative of a so-called Chinese spy is entirely baseless vilification and smearing.' Beijing's response signals its intent to firmly distance itself from the allegations, which have drawn significant attention given Nvidia's central role in the global AI and semiconductor supply chain.
The Megaspeed Connection
Megaspeed, a Singapore-based AI data centre company described as 'a core business partner of Nvidia's computing power cloud business in the Asia-Pacific region,' also denied involvement in the affair. The firm rejected allegations that it had illegally shipped Nvidia chips to China, stating that inspections by US and Malaysian authorities, as well as Nvidia itself, 'found no evidence of wrongdoing.' Megaspeed said a recent Bloomberg report contained 'misleading information and incorrect insinuations, including suggestions that we may have been involved in illegal chip transfers.'
According to Megaspeed's LinkedIn profile, the company operates offices in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, with roughly two to ten employees and 25 associated members. Singapore government records indicate the firm was previously known as 7Road International, a name that reportedly carries links to the Chinese gaming company 7Road.
How the Spying Allegations Surfaced
The case came to light after a US government probe reportedly uncovered last year that a Chinese businesswoman identified as Alice Huang had been targeting Jensen Huang in an intelligence operation, according to reports by the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. At the time, Alice Huang was said to hold a senior executive role at Megaspeed International, which rents out computing power to companies for AI training and inference workloads.
Nvidia's Response and Broader Stakes
Nvidia's board confirmed it had launched an internal investigation into the matter, though the company has not provided further public detail on its scope or timeline. The case arrives at a particularly sensitive moment: Nvidia's chips, most notably its high-performance H100 and successor GPU lines, sit at the heart of the global AI arms race. US export controls have restricted the sale of advanced Nvidia chips to China since 2022, making any alleged circumvention effort a matter of acute regulatory concern. Notably, this is not the first time Nvidia's supply chain in Southeast Asia has attracted scrutiny over potential export-control evasion — investigators have previously flagged third-party intermediaries in the region as a conduit for restricted hardware.
With both Beijing and Megaspeed issuing categorical denials and Nvidia's investigation still ongoing, the full picture of what occurred — and whether any chips reached restricted parties — remains unresolved.
Point of View
A move that implicitly treats the underlying reports as credible enough to warrant scrutiny. The Megaspeed thread is the story within the story: a small Singapore firm with opaque ownership ties to a Chinese gaming company, embedded as a core Nvidia Asia-Pacific partner, is exactly the kind of intermediary that US export-control architects warned about when drafting the 2022 chip restrictions. If the investigation substantiates even a fraction of the alleged circumvention, it will intensify pressure on Washington to tighten third-country enforcement — and on Nvidia to overhaul how it vets regional cloud partners. The broader implication is that the AI chip embargo is only as strong as the least-scrutinised link in its distribution chain.
NationPress
9 Nov 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Jensen Huang spying case about?
The case centres on reports that a Chinese businesswoman named Alice Huang, reportedly a former senior executive at Singapore-based AI firm Megaspeed, was conducting an intelligence operation targeting Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Nvidia's board has since opened a formal investigation, while China has denied any involvement.
What did China say about the spying allegations?
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun called the allegations 'entirely baseless vilification and smearing' at a press conference on 9 November 2026. Beijing stated it had already addressed the matter previously and rejected the 'so-called Chinese spy' narrative.
What is Megaspeed and why is it under scrutiny?
Megaspeed is a Singapore-based AI data centre company that rents computing power for AI training and describes itself as a core Nvidia partner in the Asia-Pacific region. It came under scrutiny after a US probe linked it to allegations of illegally shipping restricted Nvidia chips to China; it denies any wrongdoing and says inspections found no evidence of illegal transfers.
Has Nvidia found any evidence of wrongdoing?
According to Megaspeed, inspections by US and Malaysian authorities, as well as Nvidia itself, found no evidence of wrongdoing. Nvidia's board has nonetheless launched a formal internal investigation whose findings have not yet been made public.
Why does this matter for the broader US-China chip dispute?
Nvidia's advanced chips are subject to US export controls barring their sale to China, imposed since 2022, because of their role in AI development. If intermediaries in Southeast Asia are found to have circumvented those controls, it would signal a significant enforcement gap and likely prompt tighter US regulatory action targeting third-country re-export routes.
