The U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly investigating Alice Huang, with suspicions that she may be acting as a spy for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Insiders have informed Bloomberg that authorities are looking into her potential role in gathering intelligence on Jensen Huang, the founder of NVIDIA. The focus of the investigation seems to be whether entities associated with Huang are involved in smuggling products made by Super Micro Computer Inc. into China.
This investigation, which has not previously been disclosed, is being led by the United States Attorney’s Office in Manhattan. It remains unclear if this inquiry is connected to any existing cases of chip smuggling that have been filed by prosecutors in either the United States or Asia.
Earlier reports indicated that the Department of Justice has initiated an investigation into Megaspeed, a company headquartered in Singapore where Huang previously worked, due to allegations related to chip smuggling. Megaspeed has refuted any claims of wrongdoing.
Among the cases where charges have already been filed, one that stands out involves Yih-Shyan “Wally” Liaw, a co-founder of Super Micro Computer. On March 19, the Department of Justice announced that Liaw, along with two Taiwanese citizens, was indicted for allegedly conspiring to sell technology products worth billions of dollars to buyers in China. The indictment claims they conspired to transport servers equipped with NVIDIA chips to an unnamed Southeast Asian company, which then transferred them to customers in China.
Notably, Super Micro Computer itself has not been named as a defendant in this case. The company stated at that time that Liaw had been suspended from his position and that they are cooperating fully with the investigation. Liaw has maintained his innocence.
Before the publication of Bloomberg’s report, Super Micro Computer declined to comment on the investigation concerning Alice Huang. Following the article, the company released a statement emphasizing that they have been proactive in addressing inquiries and have fully cooperated with officials in both the United States and Taiwan. They also mentioned that they voluntarily provided information to Singaporean authorities and complied with all requests made thus far.
Additionally, the statement clarified, “Megaspeed is not, and has never been, a customer of Super Micro. Super Micro Computer has a robust compliance management system in place and continues to work closely with the relevant authorities and industry partners to combat illegal product transshipment activities, thereby helping to protect American innovations.”
At this time, it is unclear what role, if any, Alice Huang or the entities connected to her would have played in the alleged smuggling of Super Micro products into China. The Department of Justice investigation might conclude without any criminal charges being filed.
One insider speaking to Bloomberg indicated that the Department of Justice is conducting a separate espionage investigation, which specifically includes examining the relationship between Alice Huang and Jensen Huang.
According to previous reports from the Financial Times, U.S. intelligence has assessed that Alice Huang was directly recruited by the Ministry of State Security of the CCP, tasked with gathering intelligence on Jensen Huang to monitor developments in American AI chip technology. Allegedly, there are romantic ties between Jensen Huang and Alice Huang. The espionage allegations surrounding Huang have also drawn the attention of members of the U.S. Congress, as legislators seek to ascertain whether interactions between Jensen Huang and Alice Huang pose a threat to U.S. national security.
In contrast, the Chinese government has denied any claims that Alice Huang is a spy.