The alleged Chinese spy at the center of Nvidia chief Jensen Huang’s admitted affair was previously romantically linked to financier Kang Wei, who had faced penalties over alleged insider-trading and disclosure violations.
Huang, 63, acknowledged the affair in a memo to employees on Sunday. The relationship was with Chinese entrepreneur Alice Huang, who is not related to the Nvidia CEO and has reportedly been investigated over claims that she passed information to Beijing.
The timing of the relationship remains unclear. However, reports say Alice Huang had previously been involved with her business associate Kang Wei.
Kang established the private-equity firm Hexi Capital in 2010, while Alice Huang joined the company five years later, according to the Financial Times.
Hexi Capital now holds investments across the technology sector, including gaming and data-center businesses.
In 2018, however, the firm was fined $2.6 million. Kang was personally ordered to pay $60,000 for disclosure breaches and illegal trading during a restricted period connected to the takeover of Huiqui Technology, according to documents obtained by the New York Post.
The company was also fined by the China Securities Regulatory Commission last year for failing to disclose an insider stake in an acquired business.
Despite those penalties, Huang and Kang built a closely connected network of companies focused on corporate takeovers and business investments, The New York Times reports.
Kang, 51, was introduced to Chinese investors and Megaspeed employees as Huang’s husband, according to people familiar with the pair who spoke to the Times.
Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang, who has been accused of spying, was previously in a relationship with financier Kang Wei. People close to the pair said Kang was presented as her husband during meetings with Megaspeed investors and employees
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has acknowledged an affair with Alice Huang. The pair were photographed together on several occasions beginning in 2024
At those gatherings, Kang allegedly highlighted Huang’s relationship with the Nvidia founder and used the connection to help attract funding for their ventures, one source told the Times.
By spring 2020, the network had secured a major contract to help build and run an artificial-intelligence computing center in Shanghai for internet giant Tencent. The couple subsequently repositioned themselves as AI entrepreneurs.
It is not known when Alice Huang began a relationship with the Nvidia chief. Reports do indicate that by June 2024 she was openly discussing the closeness of their relationship.
During a computer-industry trade show in Taipei that year, sources told the Wall Street Journal that Huang demonstrated her access to the Nvidia CEO by asking him to join executives at a bar.
She reportedly told the group, “Jensen’s a great friend of mine,” before he arrived only minutes after receiving her message.
The AI executive appeared in his trademark leather jacket and spent time speaking with the group. A photograph later showed him seated closely beside Alice Huang.
During another Taipei visit in May 2025, the two were seen together at a dinner. The Wall Street Journal reported that they kissed each other on the cheek and touched one another’s arms.
The timing of Alice Huang’s relationship with the Nvidia chief remains unclear, although reports say she openly discussed her close ties to him
Recently released photographs show Alice Huang sitting beside the 63-year-old technology executive, raising a wine glass with him and smiling alongside him
Other photographs that emerged after the scandal show the Nvidia CEO and the alleged Chinese spy raising wine glasses in a toast and posing together with smiles.
In early 2025, Alice Huang also pitched an AI-chip transaction to investors based in China, claiming she could obtain Nvidia’s highly sought-after graphics-processing units and citing a commercial relationship with Alibaba, according to two investors who spoke to the Financial Times.
She was seeking funding for a Southeast Asian data-center project valued at several hundred million dollars, but did not reveal her relationship with Huang.
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In the United States, officials were briefed that Alice Huang was working for China’s Ministry of State Security as part of an effort to obtain information about American-made AI chips and potentially persuade Nvidia to make its most advanced semiconductors available in China, The New York Times reported.
US officials noted that the Megaspeed executive speaks fluent English and maintains relationships with senior figures across the AI-chip industry.
Washington was also investigating Megaspeed over suspicions that the company may have helped smuggle hardware into China. Those concerns led the government to ask Nvidia to audit the firm last year.
Nvidia’s initial review concluded that all hardware had been accounted for. But records obtained by Bloomberg News indicated that Megaspeed had imported 50,000 more chips than Nvidia identified at its data centers.
The chipmaker said in December 2025 that it would return to Megaspeed’s data centers for another inspection. It remains unclear whether that follow-up audit took place.
At a Taipei technology trade show, Alice Huang reportedly showcased her close relationship with Jensen Huang by inviting him to join executives at a bar. The pair are pictured at the event
The controversy escalated Monday when Nvidia and Jensen Huang were sued by shareholders.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants misled investors about the affair before Nvidia shares fell 4.3 percent by Monday’s close, wiping roughly $190 billion from the company’s market value.
Although Huang admitted to the relationship, Nvidia said it was unaware of investigations involving Megaspeed or Alice Huang and had “no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised.”
The company has launched an internal investigation to “examine all available information,” a move Nvidia said was supported by its chief executive.
The scandal comes as Huang has emerged as an influential figure in President Trump’s orbit because of Nvidia’s central role in the development of “superintelligence.”
It was also reported Sunday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio allegedly learned of Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang as early as this spring but continued to keep the Nvidia chief close to the president.
Jensen Huang appeared alongside President Trump at the White House in April 2025 to discuss investment in the United States
The New York Times reported that Rubio oversaw the preparation this spring of a highly classified memo warning senior Trump officials about Huang’s close relationship with the suspected spy.
The memo was based on classified intelligence gathered through electronic surveillance of Alice Huang.
After learning of the relationship, Rubio warned other administration officials in a memo issued shortly before the president’s trip to China, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to the Times.
Huang was initially excluded from a group of technology leaders invited to accompany Trump to China, although it is unclear whether Rubio’s warning influenced that decision, the outlet reported.
He ultimately joined the president on the trip.
After Rubio shared the information with senior officials, some reportedly expressed concern about Huang’s potential influence over Trump’s policy of lightly regulating AI technology.
Huang has nevertheless continued to appear with Trump. This week, the president defended the Nvidia chief after his admission, calling him a “fine person” and saying he was not concerned about the affair.
“He’s done such an incredible job … He’s a fine person in my opinion,” Trump told reporters Sunday when asked about his relationship with the technology executive.
“I think he’s an honorable guy. I think he probably has an excuse for it. You have to hear it. No, you can’t do that with people. He’s done an amazing job for our country,” Trump added.
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