Nvidia scandal increases pressure on the White House

Allegations that Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang had an affair with former Megaspeed executive Alice Huang have triggered concerns in US intelligence circles and have placed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick under political pressure, sources said.

US agencies are said to suspect Alice Huang of links to Chinese intelligence, a claim that Beijing has denied, while Nvidia's board maintains it sees no evidence that corporate secrets or national security were compromised.

The Commerce Department, which oversees export controls on sensitive technology, was also being urged to act on worries about Megaspeed, a Nvidia client accused of diverting advanced chips to China.

On Thursday, Megaspeed chief executive Tan Yong Pong, also known as James Tan, said the firm "takes its compliance obligations under US export control laws extremely seriously" and is "committed to working constructively and transparently with the US government", adding that it had cooperated with Commerce Department inspections.

A highly classified memo about Alice Huang and Megaspeed was shared with Lutnick, who is reported to have resisted imposing measures on the Singapore‑based company, a choice now under scrutiny, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly questioned why Megaspeed had not been added to the department's blacklist.

The New York Times reported that Nvidia's general counsel contacted Commerce investigators probing suspected chip smuggling by Megaspeed, invoking a senior Trump appointee, after which the probe was allegedly frozen and handed to the Justice Department.

The episode has highlighted a clash within the Trump administration over China policy, with some officials worried about security implications and others, including Huang, seeking market access, and political pressure on Lutnick is said to be mounting.