The Chinese businesswoman at the center of an alleged espionage investigation had previously been romantically linked to financier Kang Wei, whose investment firm was once penalized over insider-trading and disclosure violations, before Nvidia chief Jensen Huang acknowledged an affair with her.
Huang, 63, told employees in a memo on Sunday that he had been involved with Alice Huang, a Chinese entrepreneur who has reportedly faced scrutiny over allegations that she passed information to Beijing.
The timing of their relationship remains unclear. However, reports indicate that Alice Huang, who is not related to the Nvidia CEO, had earlier been involved with her business partner, 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 has since built a portfolio spanning technology ventures, including gaming companies and data-center projects.
In 2018, however, the firm was fined $2.6 million, while Kang personally received a $60,000 penalty for disclosure breaches and unlawful trading during a restricted period connected to the takeover of Huiqui Technology, according to documents obtained by the New York Post.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission also fined the company last year for allegedly failing to reveal an insider stake in a business it had acquired.
Despite those penalties, Huang and Kang reportedly assembled a network of related companies that pursued acquisitions and investments, The New York Times reports.
Kang, 51, was presented to Chinese investors and employees at Huang’s company, Megaspeed, as her husband, according to people familiar with the pair who spoke to the Times.
Chinese businesswoman and alleged spy Alice Huang (pictured) was previously linked to financier Kang Wei. People close to the pair said he was introduced as her husband during meetings with investors and Megaspeed employees
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has acknowledged an affair with Alice Huang. The pair were photographed together on several occasions beginning in 2024
One source said Kang highlighted Alice Huang’s relationship with the Nvidia founder during those meetings, using the connection to help attract funding for their ventures.
By spring 2020, the business network had secured a significant assignment: helping develop and run an artificial-intelligence computing center in Shanghai for internet giant Tencent. The pair subsequently rebranded themselves as AI entrepreneurs.
It remains unknown when Alice Huang began seeing the Nvidia chief. Reports do show that by June 2024 she was openly emphasizing her close association with him.
At a technology trade show in Taipei that year, sources told the Wall Street Journal that Huang demonstrated the relationship to industry executives by asking Jensen Huang to join her at a bar.
She reportedly told those present, “Jensen’s a great friend of mine,” before he arrived only minutes after receiving her message.
The Nvidia CEO appeared in his familiar leather jacket and spent time speaking with the executives. A photograph from the gathering showed him seated closely beside Alice Huang, the woman accused of having links to Chinese intelligence.
During another Taipei visit in May 2025, the two were reportedly seen together at dinner, where the Wall Street Journal said they kissed on the cheek and touched one another’s arms.
The exact start of Alice Huang’s relationship with the Nvidia CEO is unknown, although reports say she had publicly highlighted their closeness
Recently released photographs show the pair sitting close together, raising wine glasses and smiling for the camera
Additional photographs that emerged after the affair became public appear to show the Nvidia chief and Alice Huang toasting with wine and posing together during other moments of their reported relationship.
Meanwhile, in early 2025, Alice Huang presented Chinese investors with a proposal involving AI chips, claiming she could obtain Nvidia’s 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 reportedly did not reveal her relationship with Jensen Huang.
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US officials were separately briefed that Alice Huang was working for China’s Ministry of State Security in an alleged effort to obtain information about American AI chips and potentially encourage Nvidia to sell its most advanced semiconductors in China, according to The New York Times.
Officials noted that the Megaspeed executive speaks fluent English and has access to senior figures across the AI-chip sector.
Washington also examined Megaspeed over suspicions that it may have helped move hardware into China illegally. Those concerns led the government to ask Nvidia to audit the company last year.
Nvidia’s first review concluded that all of the hardware had been accounted for. But records obtained by Bloomberg News indicated that Megaspeed had imported 50,000 more chips than Nvidia located in its data centers.
In December 2025, Nvidia said it planned to return to Megaspeed’s facilities for another review. It is not known whether that follow-up audit took place.
At the Taipei technology show, sources told the Wall Street Journal that Alice Huang highlighted her closeness to Jensen Huang by inviting him to join executives at a bar. The pair are pictured at the event
The controversy escalated on Monday when Nvidia and Jensen Huang were sued by shareholders.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants misled investors about the affair. Nvidia shares fell 4.3 percent by Monday’s close, wiping roughly $190 billion from the company’s market value.
Although Jensen Huang admitted the relationship, Nvidia said it was unaware of investigations involving Megaspeed or Alice Huang. The company added that it had “no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised.”
Nvidia said it had opened an internal review to “examine all available information,” adding that the investigation had the support of its chief executive.
The scandal comes as Jensen Huang has emerged as an important figure in President Trump’s orbit because of Nvidia’s role in advancing so-called “superintelligence.”
On Sunday, reports also said Secretary of State Marco Rubio may have learned about Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang as early as spring this year, yet continued to keep the Nvidia chief within Trump’s inner circle.
Jensen Huang joined 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 of a highly classified memo during the spring warning senior Trump officials about Jensen Huang’s close relationship with the suspected spy.
The memo was reportedly based on classified intelligence gathered through electronic surveillance of Alice Huang.
After learning of the relationship, Rubio alerted 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.
Jensen Huang was initially omitted from a group of technology executives invited to accompany Trump to China. The Times said it was unclear whether that decision was connected to Rubio’s warning.
Huang ultimately joined the president on the trip.
Once Rubio shared the information with senior officials, some reportedly expressed concern about Huang’s potential influence over Trump’s approach to lightly regulating artificial intelligence, people briefed on the matter told the publication.
Even so, Huang continued to appear with Trump. This week, the president defended the Nvidia CEO after he acknowledged the affair, calling him a “fine person” and saying he was not concerned about the situation.
“He’s done such an incredible job… He’s a fine person in my opinion,” Trump told reporters on 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,” he added.
