The May short report already called the ties close

TechCrunch published at 22:46 UTC on 9 November 2026. The byline is Sarah Perez, and the page clock reads 2:46 p.m. Pacific, which is 06:46 in Beijing on 10 November. The article says that six months before the scandal became public, the New York short seller Culper Research had already raised questions about an unusually close relationship between Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang and Alice Huang, an executive at Megaspeed. The article describes Megaspeed as a Singapore company that buys Nvidia chips, and it says Alice Huang shares Jensen Huang's surname and is not related to him.

The article says Culper's 13 May report called the relationship between the two executives uncomfortably close, and that Jensen Huang was spotted partying and socializing with Alice Huang on multiple occasions. The report, as the article recounts it, also said some Nvidia employees wondered whether the two had a special relationship. The article says the report is resurfacing because Culper came across the connection while looking at Megaspeed's ties to Nvidia.

In its own sentences, the article recounts the weekend admission, the formal investigation the company has opened, and a view it attributes to intelligence officials: that Alice Huang was recruited to collect intelligence on Jensen Huang and to influence his position on export controls for advanced AI chips. That is the article's account of what officials believe. Nvidia's board statement of 8 November separately said there was no reason to believe national security or company secrets had been compromised. That sentence is not in this article, and the two statements are not the same finding.

The article also says the Financial Times reported on Monday that documents show Alibaba lent money to Megaspeed through subsidiaries. Culper is a short seller and stood to benefit if the allegations pushed the share price down. The article says the claims about possible illegal chip diversion have not been independently verified. This column does not describe routes or arrangements.

The photograph is the Getty image used with the article. It shows an Nvidia sign. The article says the photo was taken on 20 July 2025 at the Nvidia booth of the third China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing, by Costfoto/NurPhoto. It is not a picture of the weekend events.