An investigation by The Information has uncovered a complex network of companies allegedly used to move $7.5 billion worth of Nvidia AI GPUs into China, a process reportedly facilitated by Alice Huang. Huang, an executive at the Singaporean firm Megaspeed, is accused of helping to transport 240,000 banned chips, including H100 and H200 systems, into the country. The reported shipments include $4.6 billion in chips imported through Megaspeed between 2023 and 2025, with an additional $2 billion routed through the company's subsidiary, Speedmatrix.
Reports from The Information and The Wall Street Journal link Huang to a labyrinth of entities centered around Shanghai Century Litong. This data center operator, founded in June 2023, received Nvidia Preferred Cloud Partner status in October 2023, a designation that provides enhanced access to limited chip supplies. Shanghai Century Litong has provided compute capacity to major Chinese tech firms, including Alibaba and Tencent. The company's ownership structure involves Huang Yu, the sister of Alice Huang, who operates under the Chinese name Huang Le.
Sources claim Huang leveraged a close personal relationship with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to secure hardware that was otherwise difficult to procure. According to people familiar with her, Huang reportedly used images of herself with the CEO on WeChat to establish credibility with customers and claimed that Huang would often celebrate her birthday with gifts and dinners. An Nvidia China sales employee noted that Huang was a frequent presence at the company's annual events for local Chinese partners.
Financial records and corporate registries trace Huang's professional trajectory from roles at HSBC and CITIC Securities into the data center industry. Her husband, Shanghai fund manager Kang Wei, reportedly met Jensen Huang in the 2010s during his tenure as a private equity investor. While the exact timing of their personal connection remains unclear, sources suggest Huang's access to the Nvidia chief allowed her to intervene when AI shipments faced supply chain delays.
