00:00A classified memo, a suspected Chinese spy, billions of dollars in NVIDIA chips and a U.S. Commerce Secretary under
00:08scrutiny.
00:09The NVIDIA controversy is getting bigger by the day.
00:13U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik reportedly received a classified warning about CEO Jensen Huang's alleged links with Alice Huang,
00:23who was suspected by U.S. intelligence of working for China.
00:27At the same time, a Reuters investigation has revealed how a U.S. blacklisted Chinese university managed to buy NVIDIA's
00:35powerful H-200 chips through a domestic supplier.
00:40So how did restricted American technology reach China?
00:44What did Lutnik know about the alleged security risks?
00:50And did the Trump administration act on the warning?
00:53I'll be asking all these questions to the guests who will be joining me shortly.
00:57But first up, here's a report.
01:04The empire built by Jensen Huang that powers the Artificial Intelligence Revolution is under scrutiny.
01:14His credibility is under question.
01:16The billionaire boss of NVIDIA finds himself at the center of a possible Chinese honey trap scandal.
01:25The alleged spying operation, an admitted extramarital affair and a formal boardroom investigation have raised a question that extends far
01:34beyond one man's private life.
01:37Could the secrets of America's AI powerhouse have been at risk?
01:42Recent reports suggest that could pretty much be the case.
01:49An exclusive report by Reuters claims that a Chinese university with deep ties to the People's Liberation Army of China
01:56bought NVIDIA's powerful H-200 AI chips in October.
02:01Northwestern Polytechnical University of China bought two H-200 chips for 874,700 yuan or $123,000.
02:11Its website lists this procurement against 21st October.
02:18Northwestern is a member of the Seven Sons of National Defense, a group of Chinese universities under U.S. sanctions
02:25and with a history of conducting defense-related research for Beijing.
02:33Another report by the information alleged that his relationship with Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang suspected of spying for Beijing helped
02:43facilitate the shipment of at least $7.5 billion worth of the company's chips to Chinese firms.
02:52NVIDIA boss Jensen Huang's closeness with U.S. President Donald Trump faces renewed scrutiny.
02:59U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was sent a highly classified memo with a clear warning about NVIDIA CEO Jensen
03:08Huang's relationship with suspected Chinese spy Alice Huang.
03:13According to news reports by Axios, the memo, which drew on surveillance of Alice Huang and a chip-smuggling investigation
03:19into her company Megaspeed, was circulated before President Donald Trump's May visit to China.
03:27While Lutnick oversees the agency that is in charge of keeping sensitive U.S. technology out of the hands of
03:33American adversaries,
03:34U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio oversaw the drafting of the memo detailing Jensen Huang's relationship with Alice Huang.
03:44But U.S. President Donald Trump, who publicly celebrated Jensen Huang's contribution to American technology just a month ago, refuses
03:53to turn his back on the NVIDIA chief.
03:58I think he's an honorable guy. I think he probably has an excuse for it. You have to hear it.
04:04No, you can't do that with people. He was, he's done an amazing job for our country.
04:11The controversy comes at a particularly sensitive moment in the technological contest between Washington and Beijing,
04:18when NVIDIA's most advanced chips are treated not simply as commercial products, but as strategic assets.
04:27American export restrictions have sought to keep some of those chips out of Chinese hands.
04:32And senior Republican lawmakers have now requested a closed-door briefing from Huang on the 18th of November.
04:42Adding to the controversy, a U.S.-based law firm has filed a class-action lawsuit against Huang and NVIDIA,
04:50accusing them of misleading shareholders by failing to disclose information about the CEO's alleged links to the woman suspected of
04:59spying for China.
05:02At the center of the allegations is Alice Huang, a former executive of Singapore-based Megaspeed, a company that purchases
05:10NVIDIA's artificial intelligence chips.
05:15According to a New York Times report late October, Huang had a personal relationship with the businesswoman,
05:21whom American authorities suspected of acting on behalf of Chinese intelligence.
05:26Megaspeed has also faced scrutiny over suspicions that restricted American chips could have been diverted towards China,
05:34although NVIDIA has defended its dealings with the company as legitimate.
05:41China has rejected the espionage reporting, accusing its authors of attempting to discredit China.
05:56For NVIDIA's investors, however, this is no laughing matter.
06:00The company that once crossed the $5 trillion valuation mark has already been facing questions about the sustainability of the
06:09artificial intelligence boom.
06:10And this controversy adds an unwelcome new layer of uncertainty.
06:16Huang is not merely NVIDIA's chief executive.
06:19He is its co-founder, chief salesman and global public face,
06:24making any question about his future a question about the company's direction.
