On November 9, 2026, TechCrunch reported that short seller Culper Research had questioned Jensen Huang's relationship with Alice Huang, an executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based Nvidia chip buyer, in a report dated May 13, 2026 — six months before the spy scandal became public. Huang admitted to an extramarital affair over the weekend, and Nvidia's board has opened a formal investigation into the matter. The two share a last name but are not related.
What That Report from Six Months Ago Said
In its May report, Culper called the relationship between the two executives "uncomfortably close", noting that Huang was spotted partying and socializing with Alice Huang on multiple occasions, and that some Nvidia employees privately wondered whether they had a "special relationship". The report also theorized that Nvidia's China business lost to export controls had been rerouted through Southeast Asia, and that Megaspeed, a major regional buyer, may have been secretly financed by Alibaba through shell companies. Financial records showed Megaspeed's total liabilities and equity growing from $33 million at the end of 2023 to around $3 billion by the end of 2024, much of it in refundable deposits from an unidentified source. The Financial Times reported on Monday that documents show Alibaba did lend money to Megaspeed through subsidiaries.
The Scandal Is Undermining Huang's Lobbying
U.S. intelligence officials believe Alice Huang was recruited to collect intelligence on Jensen Huang and to influence his position on U.S. export controls for advanced AI chips. In a November 9 report, The Decoder noted that the scandal is weakening Huang's lobbying against tighter export controls. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor at Yale, told TechCrunch that Huang's chances of keeping his job are "about 50-50". Nvidia's board had already opened an investigation, and the new developments put that inquiry under a brighter spotlight.
Don't Treat a Short Seller's Report as a Verdict
One caution: Culper itself is short Nvidia, so profiting from a falling share price is its direct motive, and its claims about illegal chip diversion have still not been independently verified. Three things are worth watching next: the board investigation's conclusions, whether U.S. authorities take further action, and whether export-control policy tightens as a result. How the scandal ends will depend on the investigation's findings, not on a short seller's wording.
