Trump Urged Nvidia's Jensen Huang to Stay as CEO Before Spy Scandal Forced Exit

Q: What critical AI technology might have been compromised through the Megaspeed connection before intelligence agencies intervened?

The technology most plausibly at risk was Nvidia’s most advanced AI-chip systems and the computing capacity built on them, especially Blackwell- and Hopper-class hardware routed through Megaspeed-linked data centers. The reporting points repeatedly to Megaspeed advertising and supplying access to Nvidia GB200 NVL72 systems and HGX H100 platforms, while other accounts say U.S. officials were worried about restricted top-end Nvidia processors more broadly, including Blackwell-class chips and possibly H200 sales discussions. Those are exactly the kinds of chips central to training and running frontier AI models. What may have been compromised was not just physical chips, but access to high-performance AI infrastructure: advanced GPUs, server systems, and remote compute capacity that could let Chinese firms train powerful models or bypass U.S. export controls without directly importing the hardware. Reports also say Speedmatrix, tied to Megaspeed, received large shipments of restricted Nvidia technology that were allegedly used in data centers serving Chinese customers. There is no public evidence in the material provided that Nvidia’s proprietary chip designs or classified U.S. government technology were actually stolen. But before intelligence agencies stepped in, the key risk appears to have been unauthorized access to Nvidia’s cutting-edge AI compute stack — especially H100/GB200-type systems and related data-center capacity — that could strengthen China’s AI capabilities.

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Nov 13

Tuesday's call from President Trump urged Jensen Huang to keep fighting for his job, just before Nvidia replaced him as chief executive on Thursday.
Nvidia's board moved after revelations of Huang's affair with a woman U.S. intelligence agencies believed was a Chinese spy, along with another relationship involving an employee.
Trump had been warned at least twice—late last year and again in the spring—about the suspected spy link, but took no action and even brought Huang on a May trip to China.
Advisers said Trump kept backing Huang because he saw Nvidia as central to U.S. AI leadership, the economy and markets; the company controls at least 80% of advanced AI training chips.