Ex-CIA Official Raises Theory US Intelligence Could Have Used Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang To Mislead China

A former CIA and State Department official has raised the possibility that US intelligence could have used Nvidia chief Jensen Huang to feed false information to China, while stressing that he cannot determine whether any such operation took place.

Nicholas Eftimiades put forward the theory on TMZ Live on Tuesday, 10 November, after reports alleged a relationship between Huang and Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based technology company Megaspeed, which has done business with Nvidia.

The reports have prompted questions about whether the chipmaker's chief executive was caught up in a foreign intelligence effort, but they do not establish that one occurred.

How Jensen Huang Became Central to an Intelligence Theory

Eftimiades described one hypothetical scenario in which Chinese intelligence operatives might have tried to exploit Alice Huang's reported access to Nvidia's chief executive. He suggested they could have recruited her and instructed her on what information to obtain.

That was speculation, not evidence that Alice Huang was recruited or collected confidential information. Reports citing US intelligence assessments have alleged links between her and Chinese intelligence, but those claims have not been publicly established.

China has rejected the espionage allegations. At a foreign ministry briefing on 10 November, spokesperson Guo Jiakun described them as unsubstantiated and an attempt to smear China.

Nvidia's advanced artificial intelligence chips are subject to US export restrictions affecting China. That makes the security of sensitive information a significant concern, but does not substantiate allegations of espionage or establish that any information was passed to Chinese officials.

Eftimiades also discussed a competing possibility. Referring to reports that American intelligence officials had known about the suspected activity for approximately a year, he suggested they might have used that knowledge to transmit false information to Chinese intelligence through Huang.

He used the phrase 'wilderness of mirrors' to describe the deception and uncertainty that can surround intelligence operations. However, he acknowledged that the information available could not establish whether such an American operation took place.

Neither scenario shows that Huang knowingly assisted an intelligence agency, that US officials gave him false information or that Chinese authorities received it. The possibilities remain unverified, and Eftimiades did not say he could determine which, if either, had occurred.

Nvidia's Investigation and the Unproven Claims

The speculation comes as Nvidia examines the circumstances surrounding reports that its founder and chief executive was targeted by a foreign intelligence effort.

On 8 November, the company announced that a committee of independent directors, supported by outside counsel, would oversee an investigation. The board said it had no reason to believe national security or Nvidia secrets had been compromised, but that the inquiry would consider all available information.

On 10 November, the independent directors said they had retained former acting US attorney Joon H. Kim and the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct the investigation.

Separately, Huang acknowledged in an 8 November message to Nvidia employees that he had been unfaithful to his wife. He apologised to his family and colleagues, pledged to co-operate with the board's inquiry and asked for his family's privacy. The published message did not identify the other person.

A separate legal action was filed on 9 November, when investor Mark Kistenmacher brought a proposed shareholder class action against Nvidia and Huang in California. The lawsuit alleges misleading corporate disclosures connected to the reported relationship and Megaspeed.

Those allegations have not been proven. The plaintiff is seeking unspecified damages and a jury trial.