New photographs showing Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang alongside Huang Le, the Chinese businesswoman alleged by US authorities to be a Chinese intelligence asset, have emerged as President Donald Trump defended the technology boss as an “honorable guy”.
The images show Ms Huang and Mr Huang sitting together, smiling, raising wine glasses in a toast and appearing close to one another. Their date and location are unclear, although they reportedly include pictures taken in Shanghai, California and Hong Kong.
The photographs were posted on Ms Huang’s WeChat account, which has since been disabled. The pair were also pictured together at a technology conference in Taipei in 2024.
The images have resurfaced after reports disclosed that Mr Huang had been in a relationship with Ms Huang, a former executive of Singapore-based Megaspeed. US officials allege that she worked as an intelligence asset for Beijing.
Mr Huang, 63, has told Nvidia employees that he was unfaithful to his wife, Lori Huang, and apologised to her and their two children.
“I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children,” he said. “There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.”
He added that Nvidia’s board had begun an independent investigation into national security concerns raised in reports, saying he supported the inquiry and would co-operate fully.
Nvidia board examines alleged Chinese intelligence links
Nvidia’s board has said it has “no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised” as a result of the relationship, while adding that it would examine all available information.
Mr Trump said he had not discussed the allegations with Mr Huang, but described him as a “fine person” who had done “such an incredible job”. Asked whether the president should have acted on intelligence about the matter, Mr Trump replied: “No, I don’t think so. I think he’s an honorable guy. I think he probably has an excuse for it. You have to hear it.”
Ms Huang founded Megaspeed in 2023 after working in private equity and television. The company was spun off from Chinese video game group 7Road Holdings months after the Biden administration imposed restrictions on shipments of advanced artificial intelligence chips to China.
Trade records show that Megaspeed imported more than 4.6 billion dollars’ worth of Nvidia products. At several sites in south-east Asia, it also rented Nvidia chips to Alibaba, which the US government has accused of links to the Chinese military.
By early 2025, Ms Huang was seeking investment for a data-centre project in south-east Asia worth several hundred million dollars. Two investors said she promoted her access to Nvidia’s graphics-processing units and her commercial relationship with Alibaba, but did not disclose her relationship with Mr Huang.
US officials had been briefed that a woman named Huang Le was working for China’s Ministry of State Security in an effort to obtain information about American-made AI chips and potentially persuade Nvidia to make its most advanced semiconductors available in China.
Washington had separately been investigating Megaspeed over concerns that hardware may have been smuggled to China. Nvidia previously said an audit had found no evidence of diversion and that Megaspeed was fully owned and operated outside China.
However, records indicated that Megaspeed had imported 50,000 more chips than Nvidia found at its data centres. The company later pledged to inspect the facilities again, although it is unclear whether that further review took place.
Megaspeed has denied wrongdoing and said it complies with all regulations relevant to its operations. A spokesperson said the company was surprised by allegations that a former executive had acted as a foreign intelligence asset.
The allegations have contributed to a fall in Nvidia’s share price, wiping about 270 billion dollars from its market value. Three Republican chairmen of powerful House committees have asked Mr Huang to attend a closed-door briefing on November 18, where they intend to question him about his dealings with Ms Huang and the company’s safeguards against foreign espionage.
