WASHINGTON, November 9, 2026 — US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the FBI is looking into Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang’s relationship with a woman alleged to be a Chinese intelligence agent. He added that he does not believe Huang has cause for concern.
Speaking at a White House briefing, Trump said: “I know the FBI is looking into it in terms of something else, and I think that he’ll be in good shape.” He did not say what “something else” referred to, and the FBI has not publicly commented on the remarks.
Trump said Huang told him he had no idea the woman was a suspected spy. “I really believe him,” the president said. He added that he has known Huang for some time.
Background to the allegations
Huang admitted to an extramarital relationship in a letter to Nvidia employees on November 8, the same day the company’s board announced an independent investigation. The board said the inquiry would follow reports that Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort. A committee of independent directors, assisted by outside counsel, will oversee it.
The woman is Alice Huang, a Chinese national who is not related to Jensen Huang. She is a former executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data-centre company that is a major Nvidia customer. The New York Times reported that US authorities were investigating her and that Megaspeed had bought more than $4.8 billion of Nvidia chips over two years.
According to the Times, citing people briefed on the matter, intelligence shared within the Trump administration in the spring concluded that China’s Ministry of State Security had recruited her. These claims come from anonymous sources and have not been confirmed by US authorities on the record. Alice Huang has not publicly commented.
Reactions
China’s foreign ministry rejected the claims at a routine briefing on Monday, calling the spy allegation “unsubstantiated.”
Nvidia has said Huang’s contacts with her were ordinary customer interactions. According to CNBC, the company said no sensitive trade secrets or national security information were shared.
Three Republican chairs of House committees have asked Huang to attend a closed-door briefing on November 18. Democratic lawmakers have separately called for an investigation or testimony. Nvidia shares fell about 5% in pre-market trading on Monday.
Diplomatic backdrop
Trump is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping next week in Shenzhen at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Asked whether he would raise the matter with Xi, Trump said: “No, I don’t think so.”
The affair and the investigations come as Nvidia’s China business is already under scrutiny in Washington. The FBI has not said whether it has opened a formal inquiry.
