Markets & Business
Short seller flagged Huang-Megaspeed ties months before scandal
New York short seller Culper Research flagged Jensen Huang's close ties to Alice Huang and raised unverified questions about Megaspeed's finances six months before the Nvidia spy scandal broke.
Six months before Nvidia’s spy scandal became public, the New York short-seller firm Culper Research had already questioned CEO Jensen Huang’s unusually close relationship with Alice Huang, who works at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based buyer of Nvidia chips now suspected of ties to Chinese espionage. Huang admitted to the affair over the weekend, and Nvidia has since opened a formal investigation into the relationship. American intelligence officials suspect Beijing recruited her to gather information on Huang and sway his views on U.S. chip-export limits.
Culper’s report, dated May 13, is resurfacing now because it had already flagged the Jensen Huang–Alice Huang connection while digging into Megaspeed’s ties to Nvidia. It called the relationship “uncomfortably close,” noting Huang had been seen partying and socializing with her repeatedly, and said some Nvidia employees wondered whether the two had a special relationship. Culper also alleged, without independent verification, that Megaspeed was secretly financed by Chinese tech giant Alibaba through shell companies — a claim the Financial Times reported Monday is partly backed by documents showing Alibaba lent Megaspeed money through subsidiaries.
As a short seller, Culper stood to profit from a falling Nvidia share price, and its chip-diversion allegations remain unverified; the report has been public since May, including on X.
Why it matters
The report is a reminder that red flags about Huang’s ties to Megaspeed were circulating — and were financially motivated to begin with — long before Nvidia’s board opened its own investigation, raising questions about who missed them and why.