Culper’s May Nvidia warning resurfaces after Huang affair

A short seller's report from six months ago is drawing new attention. In May, Culper Research described Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's ties to Megaspeed executive Alice Huang as "uncomfortably close." Now Huang has admitted to an extramarital affair, and Nvidia's board has opened an investigation. The New York-based firm published the report on May 13 and disclosed a short position in the chipmaker at the same time, according to the Australian Financial Review. Culper's post on X that day announced: "We are short Nvidia."afr.com+1

What Culper flagged

The report was titled "NVIDIA (NVDA): The China Problem." It pointed to two public sightings of the pair. The first was in Taipei around Computex in June 2024. The second was a dinner in Taiwan in May 2025, weeks after the US tightened trade restrictions. Culper said it found no evidence of an affair and did not allege espionage, News18 reported. Huang "seems to have quite literally walked alongside Megaspeed at every step, while maintaining a close relationship with Megaspeed's Alice Huang, a Chinese national," the firm wrote, as quoted by Business Standard.business-standard.com+1

Most of the 40-page report focused on money. It alleged that Megaspeed, Nvidia's largest Southeast Asian chip buyer, was "secretly financed by Alibaba ↗ 1.28% via a series of apparent shell companies." It also claimed that more than 20% of Nvidia's fiscal 2026 compute revenue was still driven by Chinese demand. These allegations are unproven, and Nvidia has said its checks found no diversion of chips, NDTV Profit noted.culperresearch.com+1

Affair admission and board probe

In late October, The New York Times reported that US intelligence officials had concluded Alice Huang was passing information to Beijing, AFP reported. On Sunday, November 8, Huang told employees, "I was unfaithful to my wife." Nvidia's board said it had "no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised" but would look into the reports. China's government has called the allegations "groundless speculation."afp.com

Weekend shorts on Hyperliquid

The Nasdaq was closed on Sunday. On Hyperliquid ↗ 0.63%, three accounts opened new short positions on Nvidia-linked perpetual futures that together came to about $9.1 million, according to TheStreet. The largest, roughly $5.44 million, used 10x leverage. TheStreet cautioned that the records do not show the trades were driven entirely by the Huang news.au.finance.yahoo.com

John Hempton of Bronte Capital, whose fund does not hold Nvidia, said he had initially thought Culper's claims were far-fetched, Business Standard reported. Alex Pollack, chief investment officer of longtime Nvidia holder Loftus Peak, put it this way: "there's a whiff of espionage around this situation."business-standard.com