Who wanted Nvidia’s Huang out? ‘Honeypot’ scandal raises questions over AI power struggle
The downfall of Nvidia founder Jensen Huang in a scandal involving a suspected Chinese spy has raised a politically explosive question: who benefits from the removal of one of Washington’s most influential critics of chip restrictions on China?
Huang resigned on Thursday following revelations of extramarital affairs, including one with Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang, former head of Nvidia customer, Singapore-based Megaspeed International. Anonymous US intelligence officials reportedly suspect that she was recruited by Beijing to potentially influence the Nvidia CEO to push Washington to ease AI chip export restrictions.
The scandal came at a pivotal moment in the US-China technology war, just days before a planned summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. With congressional hawks already pushing for tougher restrictions, the timing of Huang’s downfall has fueled questions about the political interests served by his resignation.
RT examines the intrigue surrounding Huang’s exit and the struggle for control of the global AI industry.
So who benefits from Huang’s departure?
Huang’s resignation removes one of Washington’s most prominent advocates of keeping China connected to American AI technology, potentially handing China hawks a major political advantage. The Nvidia founder repeatedly warned that cutting Beijing off from American technology would accelerate China’s push for independence. In a May interview with Fox Business, he pointed to Huawei’s growing influence: “They’re flourishing in our absence.”
His exit has immediately intensified congressional demands for tighter export controls and investigations into Nvidia’s China dealings.
Republican Representative John Moolenaar, who chairs the House Select Committee on China, has seized on the scandal to question whether whether Chinese intelligence had obtained sensitive information through Huang or influenced US technology policy.
“[Huang has] been one of the strongest proponents for not having export controls,” Moolenaar said. “This shines a whole new light on that discussion.”
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast has also pushed for stronger safeguards, including measures to prevent chip smuggling and restrict access to advanced semiconductor equipment.
Trump defended Huang as a “very honorable guy” and said he believed the executive’s denial that he knew Alice Huang was allegedly involved in espionage. However, the controversy appears to have given advocates of tougher restrictions on China fresh ammunition against one of their most influential opponents.
Who benefits more – China hawks or AI rivals?
Huang’s abrupt exit has also raised questions over whether rival American technology firms could benefit from his downfall.
Independent journalist Lee Fang suggested rival US AI companies could gain, pointing to Huang’s support for cheaper Chinese open-source models that threaten established American competitors. He drew parallels with earlier campaigns targeting Huawei and TikTok.
Venice AI founder Erik Voorhees went further, calling Huang’s removal a “coup.”
Journalist Glenn Greenwald questioned whether extramarital affairs alone explained the removal of one of America’s most powerful technology executives.
“I don’t know who wanted Jensen Huang out but I know that whoever it was wields extreme levels of power,” he wrote on X.
The resignation also provoked a backlash across Silicon Valley. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao called it “a mistake,” Epic Games chief Tim Sweeney described it as “a sad day,” and Elon Musk said hiring Huang would be “an honor.”
“Dark, dark day. Horrible decision for the US and the western world,” wrote Andreessen Horowitz partner Martin Casado.
The media has some questions to answer
Questions have emerged over how the story reached the press. New York Times reporter Tripp Mickle, who helped break the story of Huang’s affair, revealed on The Daily podcast that he and colleague Ana Swanson began investigating Megaspeed after receiving a tip from an unnamed technology industry contact.
The disclosure reinforces suspicions that journalists may have been deliberately steered toward Megaspeed, raising questions about who supplied the tip – and why.
What did Washington know – and when?
The intrigue deepened following reports that senior US officials knew about Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang months before the scandal erupted.
According to Axios, a highly classified intelligence memorandum overseen by Secretary of State Marco Rubio circulated before Trump’s May visit to China. Based on surveillance of Alice Huang and an investigation into suspected chip smuggling involving Singapore-based Nvidia customer Megaspeed, the warning reportedly reached Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Rubio also reportedly briefed Trump.
Megaspeed operates AI computing infrastructure, allowing customers to rent access to powerful Nvidia processors outside China – a potential route around restrictions on shipping advanced chips directly to the country.
Washington was also approving direct sales to Chinese buyers. In May Reuters reported that around ten Chinese companies had been cleared to purchase Nvidia’s H200 processors, although deliveries had not begun. The approvals were separate from the Megaspeed investigation, and their precise timing relative to the intelligence warning remains unclear.
The dispute reportedly reached the highest levels of the Trump administration. Axios reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confronted Lutnick over his failure to blacklist Megaspeed despite repeated warnings. The Commerce Department denied the confrontation ever happened and Lutnick now faces congressional scrutiny over his department’s handling of chip exports and suspected diversion to China.
If Washington had been warned months earlier, why did the allegations become a public crisis only now?
How did Singapore become entangled in the scandal
Singaporean authorities had been investigating Alice Huang’s former company, Megaspeed International, long before her alleged ties to Chinese intelligence became central to the scandal surrounding Nvidia’s founder.
In a statement Thursday, Singapore’s Home Affairs Ministry said police began investigating Megaspeed in February 2025 over suspected false declarations involving servers shipped through Singapore to Malaysia.
Alice Huang was questioned and had her passport seized in June 2025. By February 2026, however, investigators found insufficient evidence that she had committed the suspected offenses. She received a warning for knowingly providing inaccurate information about her role at Megaspeed and was barred from re-entering Singapore.
Notably, Singapore stressed that she had never been investigated for espionage.
Meanwhile, the alleged Chinese spy narrative has come under growing scrutiny in Washington itself.
According to CNN, US intelligence officials remain divided over whether the evidence establishes that Alice Huang worked for Beijing. Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the Justice Department had reached “no conclusions” about her alleged intelligence ties.
The assessments leave a fundamental question unanswered: how did an unproven espionage allegation gain such traction despite the lack of conclusive evidence?
Why is Nvidia central to US technological dominance?
Founded by Huang in 1993, Nvidia has become the leading supplier of advanced processors powering the global AI boom.
Its chips and software underpin data centers and AI systems worldwide, making the company a strategic asset in Washington’s competition with Beijing.
By controlling exports of advanced processors and semiconductor technology, the US can influence which countries gain access to the computing power needed to develop cutting-edge AI.
Washington argues the restrictions are necessary to prevent China from strengthening its military and intelligence capabilities. Critics see a broader strategy of technological containment aimed at preserving American economic and geopolitical dominance.
That is what made Huang’s position so consequential: he challenged a central instrument of Washington’s effort to maintain its lead over China.
Could US chip restrictions hand China the advantage?
Washington’s campaign to contain China’s technological rise risks achieving the opposite: accelerating Beijing’s drive to build an AI industry beyond American control.
Chinese firms, including Huawei, are developing domestic alternatives to US processors, while Beijing is pushing for technological self-reliance.
In an August regulatory filing, Nvidia warned that US export controls, combined with Chinese restrictions, had effectively excluded it from China’s data-center computing market.
The company argued that its exclusion was allowing competitors to expand their developer and customer networks, potentially challenging American technology worldwide.
That was the central contradiction Huang repeatedly highlighted: cutting China off from Nvidia could weaken American influence while strengthening Chinese competitors.
Washington’s national security hawks argue the opposite – that selling powerful processors to Beijing risks advancing its military and technological capabilities.
Huang’s departure removes a prominent voice from that debate, but not the dilemma: could Washington’s efforts to preserve its technological supremacy ultimately help China escape American dominance?
Who will take control of Nvidia now?
Huang’s resignation has triggered a leadership crisis at Nvidia. According to Wired, an internal post urging the board to consider employee sentiment attracted more than 1,600 comments, many supporting Huang’s return.
Longtime finance chief Colette Kress has taken over as interim CEO while Nvidia searches for a permanent successor.
According to Reuters, Kress and Nvidia veteran Ian Buck, a key figure behind its CUDA computing platform, are among the possibilities. Other names floated include Arm CEO Rene Haas and AMD chief Lisa Su. On Polymarket, Buck has also emerged among the leading contenders, alongside Jensen Huang’s daughter, Madison Huang, who serves at Nvidia as senior marketing director, and Apple hardware chief Johny Srouji, although betting odds offer no indication of the board’s intentions.
Trump has also weighed in, endorsing former Apple CEO Tim Cook, now executive chairman, declaring on Truth Social that “a Legend replaces a Legend.”
The succession debate has extended to Israel, where media have floated Nvidia technology chief Michael Kagan, Mellanox founder Eyal Waldman, and Apple‘s Srouji. All three have strong ties to the Israeli technology sector.
Whoever succeeds Huang will inherit a company caught in the escalating US-China technology confrontation, with the stakes extending far beyond the boardroom. Huang’s replacement will have to choose whether to continue advocating for keeping China within the American technology ecosystem or bring Nvidia closer to Washington’s advocates of tougher restrictions.
The broader question, meanwhile, is not simply who replaces Huang, but whether his departure will also mark a fundamental shift in America’s AI strategy.
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