Trump knew a year ago Nvidia’s billionaire CEO had a close relationship with a Chinese spy and did nothing, report says

American officials have now concluded that Alice Huang or Huang Le, a Chinese citizen, was an intelligence asset who was sending information to Beijing.

According to the NYT, Trump was briefed on the intelligence findings about a year ago but chose not to do anything. The revelations come as the U.S. works to maintain its dominant position in the booming AI industry.

Allegations of Chinese spying

The NYT is reporting that American officials were already watching Ms. Huang and suspected she was helping Beijing evade restrictions on its ability to access advanced AI chips.

The latest allegations, however, reveal Ms. Huang also had direct access to Mr. Huang, one of the most significant figures in AI and someone with direct access to Trump and his thinking.

Nvidia did not reply to Moneywise’s request for comment in time for publication.

Speaking to the NYT, Nvidia defended its CEO’s connection to Ms. Huang, saying she was employed with a regional company called Megaspeed, which Nvidia had reportedly vetted following claims that Megaspeed was smuggling chips into China.

“Jensen’s interactions with Ms. Huang are not unusual or unexpected. Meetings with customers are part of a CEO’s job; Jensen talks with thousands of customer executives every year,” Nvidia spokesman John Rizzo told the NYT.

Rizzo also said Nvidia is “confident that if the U.S. government believes that any person is a threat to American industry, it would let us know,” and that customers like Megaspeed would not be privy to sensitive information.

Sources who spoke to the NYT on the condition of anonymity said Mr. Huang has not received a defensive briefing, which is sometimes given to Americans who may be the target of foreign interference.