Trump calls Nvidia’s Huang a ‘fine person’ as Congress and board probe spy link

President Trump has described Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang as a “fine person” while a foreign spy probe around the company widens, according to Reuters. Only the headline of the Reuters piece was available to us, so the details below come from other outlets and are attributed to them.

What is reported about the intelligence memo

According to CNBC, citing the New York Times, a memo given to Trump administration policymakers last spring said China’s Ministry of State Security had recruited a Chinese executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company, to gather information on Huang. CNBC says the U.S. suspects Megaspeed of helping China get around AI chip sales restrictions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly oversaw the memo’s creation, per people briefed on the matter. The State Department and White House had not immediately responded to CNBC.

TechCrunch notes that the memo’s claims have not been independently verified. These are allegations from an intelligence assessment as reported by the press, not findings of wrongdoing.

Nvidia’s board and Congress both want answers

CNBC reports that Nvidia’s board announced an independent investigation on Sunday. The board said it has “no reason to believe” national security or company secrets were compromised, and that Huang fully supports the review. Nvidia has also said his contacts with the executive were ordinary customer interactions and that no sensitive information was shared. The company said the news “will not slow NVIDIA” and that Huang remains CEO.

On Capitol Hill, three House Republican committee chairs wrote to Huang asking for a closed-door briefing, citing “significant national security concerns,” CNBC reports. Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat who is due to chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when his party takes control in January, wrote on X that Congress “will investigate and get answers.” Nvidia’s spokesman declined to say whether Huang would appear.

A presidential endorsement meets a bipartisan inquiry

Trump’s remark matters because the pressure is bipartisan and aimed at both Nvidia and the administration. Rep. Seth Magaziner asked that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick testify alongside Huang, CNBC reports. Sen. John Cornyn called “outrageous” a separate New York Times report that the administration authorized a Chinese firm, New Matrix, to assemble Nvidia chips in Beijing. TechCrunch adds that the Times found only a hollow shell at the company’s listed address; an Nvidia spokesperson said the company sells its best technology in America.

The story lands as U.S. scrutiny of AI-chip ties to China is already high. We recently covered Oracle’s reported decision to drop a $7 billion Tencent chip lease after U.S. pressure.

What the reports do not establish

The full Reuters text, including Trump’s exact context, was not available to us. Neither the memo nor any official U.S. statement on it has been published. The board’s investigation has no stated timeline, and it is unclear whether Huang will attend a congressional briefing. The outcome of the inquiries will show whether Huang’s standing with the White House changes Nvidia’s China-related export position.