Don't use Jensen Huang's affair to restrict NVIDIA chips: China
What's the story
China has warned the US against using the controversy surrounding NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and his alleged affair with a Chinese businesswoman as an excuse to impose stricter restrictions on NVIDIA's advanced AI chips. The warning was issued by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning during a press briefing on November 12. She said, "The US should stop fabricating the so-called Chinese spy narrative as a pretext for imposing technology restrictions."
Affair implications
US national security concerns and potential impact on NVIDIA
The reported affair between Jensen Huang and Alice Huang, an executive at Megaspeed, has raised national security alarms in the US.
There are fears that this controversy could lead to tighter controls on NVIDIA's advanced AI chips.
The Remote Access Security Act (RASA), a proposed US bill, would give the Commerce Department power to regulate remote access to restricted technology.
Strategic moves
Chinese AI companies seek alternative chip access amid uncertainty
In light of the potential fallout from Jensen Huang's affair, Chinese AI companies are looking to secure NVIDIA-powered computing capacity outside China.
A major Chinese cloud provider has even internally discussed locking in overseas NVIDIA chip capacity.
Smaller AI labs are also considering similar strategies through providers in Southeast Asia, Reuters reported.
Export restrictions
US already restricts export of NVIDIA's most advanced AI chips
The US has already restricted the export of NVIDIA's most advanced AI chips to China over national security concerns.
These restrictions have been tightened several times in recent years, with an aim to prevent China from accessing cutting-edge computing power that could be used for advanced AI and military applications.
Information
No evidence of compromised national security or company secrets
In light of the controversy, NVIDIA's board has said it has no reason to believe that national security or company secrets were compromised. Jensen Huang has also denied knowing that Alice Huang was allegedly linked to Chinese intelligence, US President Donald Trump had said.