Nvidia’s probe email, alleged Chinese spy’s GPU pitch emerge - Capital Brief

Nvidia general counsel Tim Teter wrote to US Commerce Department agents in August 2025 to inform them that Nvidia’s boss, Trump-nominated under secretary Jeff Kessler, had cleared the company to make contact about the case.

Agents feared the contact could taint the investigation, which has since been moved to the Justice Department to avoid compromising it.

The probe centers on Singapore’s Megaspeed, a company once led by an alleged Chinese spy linked to Jensen Huang.

Megaspeed’s financial growth and Alibaba ties

The Financial Times reported that Megaspeed’s former executive Alice Huang pitched China-based investors on a Southeast Asian data centre deal in early 2025, touting access to Nvidia chips and Alibaba as a client.

Company documents showed Alibaba lent money to Megaspeed’s Malaysian subsidiary in June 2024, with the unit pledging its entire business as collateral.

Megaspeed’s balance sheet grew from USD33 million to USD3 billion that year.

Huang’s admission and political fallout

The Nvidia boss admitted to an affair yesterday, less than two weeks after telling Bloomberg his interactions with Alice Huang were 'completely normal and not unusual' and that the US government had never told him of its suspicions about her.

The New York Times had reported that Donald Trump was briefed last year that she had a relationship with the Nvidia CEO and was presumed to be a spy, but chose not to act.

Huang will face investors at Nvidia’s 17 November results, while House Republicans requested a closed-door briefing the next day.

Market reaction and next steps

Nvidia was about 5% lower amid the spy scandal engulfing Jensen Huang, but the rest of Wall Street headed for its best day since April as dip buyers returned after last week’s AI rout.

The chipmaker was the only stock in the 30-member Philadelphia Semiconductor Index to fall as the index jumped about 6%, led by rival AMD, up almost 13% after an Oppenheimer upgrade.

Investors are now turning to US inflation data, due early Wednesday, for clues on whether the Federal Reserve will hike again in December, a move traders see as about 80% likely.