Elis Huang has found herself at the center of an international scandal involving alleged ties to Chinese intelligence, the trade in advanced computer chips and a romantic relationship with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. U.S. intelligence agencies suspect her of having links to China’s Ministry of State Security, but the publicly available evidence does not prove that she has engaged in espionage.
The biggest mystery remains the Chinese businesswoman’s biography. Journalists have been unable to confirm much of the information about her education, career and personal life. Her whereabouts are also unknown. Her social media profiles have been deleted, while her exact position at Singapore-based Megaspeed International remains unclear.
Biography with unconfirmed details
Elis Huang has been presented as a former journalist at Chinese television networks Hunan TV and CCTV, after which she moved into the financial sector. She has been linked to international bank HSBC, state-owned conglomerate CITIC and investment company Shanghai Hexi. However, no public confirmation has been found that she worked at Hunan TV and CCTV.
Additional questions have been raised by the story of Bai Jie, a former CCTV presenter. She initially said that she knew Huang from the time when the two worked as journalists. The post was later deleted, Bai denied making the statement, and her ability to publish on the Chinese social media platform was restricted.
Former CIA lead analyst on China Dennis Wilder has questioned the credibility of parts of the biography that has been presented. “Her past smells like a legend,” he said, emphasizing that this alone does not prove espionage.
Megaspeed and the connection to Nvidia
In March 2023, Huang became a director of Megaspeed International. The company began providing computing capacity through data centers equipped with Nvidia chips. According to the information cited in the report, its assets grew from $33 million to $3 billion in about a year.
The growth attracted the attention of U.S. officials amid suspicions that the company may have been used to circumvent restrictions on the export of advanced chips to China. However, University of California professor Victor Shih said that Megaspeed did not resemble a covert Chinese intelligence structure because of the scale of its assets.
Huang and Jensen Huang were photographed together in Taipei in June 2024 and May 2025. In one of the photographs, she is kissing him on the cheek. When exactly their relationship began has not been established.
Investigations continue
Jensen Huang admitted the extramarital relationship to Nvidia employees and apologized to his family and the company. The board of directors commissioned an independent internal investigation. At the same time, U.S. agencies are examining Elis Huang’s alleged ties to Chinese intelligence and the possible circumvention of export restrictions.
Chinese authorities have dismissed the allegations against her as baseless and aimed at discrediting the country. Thus, at present, her connection to Megaspeed and her relationship with the head of Nvidia remain confirmed, while the claims of espionage and the illegal transfer of chips continue to be subject to investigation.
Sources: obozrevatel.com, washingtonpost.com, apnews.com