Report: Chinese network shipped $7.5 billion worth of Nvidia chips since 2023
Key Facts
A report published by The Information on November 10 said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s ties to Alice Huang date back to at least 2023, and that a network of Chinese companies has since facilitated shipments of at least $7.5 billion worth of chips for the company. The report based its account on two people who know Alice Huang, so details of her role and the network remain attributed to the report. Reuters reported, citing The Information, that Alice used her connections with Nvidia and its distributors to secure supplies when orders for chips subject to U.S. export restrictions stalled. Coverage estimated that the network moved about 240,000 H100 and H200 chips, along with some A100 chips, to China. The allegations put chip dealings at the center of intensifying security and political scrutiny over export controls, without in themselves establishing a violation or any effect of the relationship on the company’s compliance.
One example cited in the report is Shanghai Century Litong, a China-based company established in June 2023. Reuters said the company had obtained preferred cloud partner status with Nvidia by October, giving it priority access to the company’s chips. These details come amid broader allegations about advanced AI chips reaching China through companies and intermediaries. U.S. policy had shifted in December 2025, when President Donald Trump announced that H200 processors could be exported to China in exchange for a 25% fee on those sales. This regulatory framework puts any claims about chip supplies through Chinese company networks under scrutiny regarding licensing limits and applicable restrictions.
Nvidia said its board had begun an independent investigation into reports that Huang had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort. The company said independent directors and independent legal counsel would oversee the investigation, adding that the board saw no reason to believe its secrets or national security had been compromised. The company said the investigation would not halt its business and that Huang was committed to continuing to lead it as CEO without interruption. This comes as Huang acknowledged and apologized for an extramarital relationship, according to AP, while the board investigates his relationship with Alice Huang and its potential national security implications. AP reported that China’s Foreign Ministry rejected the espionage allegations and called them a smear campaign.
The case has also moved into the courts after individual investor Mark Kestenmacher filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Nvidia and Huang in a federal court in California. The suit accuses the company and its CEO of misleading investors about the relationship with Alice Huang and its potential national security effects, and seeks unspecified damages and a jury trial. The lawsuit seeks to represent people who bought Nvidia shares between October 9, when The New York Times first reported a meeting between Huang and Alice in Taiwan, and November 8, when the company announced its investigation. The suit also says Nvidia’s statements about Megaspeed were misleading, and that the company and Huang failed to disclose the relationship and made false statements about Nvidia’s connection to the company. These are allegations in a court complaint, not judicial findings about the company’s liability.
The lawsuit overlaps with an earlier government inquiry into Singapore-based Megaspeed, as AP reported that the U.S. Commerce Department was investigating suspicions that it had helped evade restrictions on chip exports to China. Nvidia said at the time that its compliance team had reviewed the matter and concluded Megaspeed had not violated any rules. AP, citing The New York Times, reported that Megaspeed had bought more than $4.8 billion worth of Nvidia chips during the two years before the report. Separately, President Donald Trump said the FBI was investigating the relationship, but added that Huang told him he did not know the woman might be involved in espionage. These positions and statements remain part of investigations and allegations for which the relevant authorities have not announced final findings.
The escalating case weighed on the stock, with Nvidia shares falling 4.3% in the November 9 session, wiping about $190 billion off its market value, according to AP. Reuters said the stock fell more than 6% on November 10, following the previous session’s decline, briefly allowing Microsoft to overtake Nvidia as the world’s second-largest company by market capitalization for the first time since June 2025. AP put the company’s market value at more than $4 trillion at the time of its report and said the stock continued to fall on Tuesday morning. A Reuters report cited Bank of America analysts as saying the focus of the investment debate was whether the case would remain a company-specific issue or lead to restrictions and disruption in AI infrastructure. The analysts added: "Allegations should not be equated with proven commercial harm."
Attention is turning to steps by Congress and the executive branch in the coming days. Leaders of three House committees requested a closed-door briefing from Huang on November 18 about The New York Times report and Nvidia’s security protocols for countering espionage by foreign adversaries. Democratic lawmakers on the House Foreign Affairs Committee also asked the Commerce Department to halt exports of advanced AI chips to China, setting December 1 as the deadline for answers on whether senior department officials knew of the alleged intelligence ties. Representatives Mark Warner and Hakeem Jeffries said they were interested in further investigation, according to AP. With the company’s independent investigation underway, attention will focus on what official inquiries and the board review uncover, and on any changes to restrictions or oversight of chip shipments to China.