Report: Alice Huang-linked firms invested in DeepSeek

Companies tied to Alice Huang, the suspected Chinese intelligence asset at the center of the Nvidia scandal, recently invested in Chinese AI developer DeepSeek. According to The Information, which cited three people with direct knowledge of the matter, the goal was to build closer ties with DeepSeek. The report came out Thursday, November 12, hours after Jensen Huang resigned as Nvidia's chief executive. The news ties Alice Huang's network to China's best-known AI lab as U.S. and Singaporean investigators look into how restricted Nvidia hardware reached China.theinformation.com+1

How the investment worked

The firms invested in DeepSeek's second funding round, which ran from July to October and raised nearly $16 billion, Clash Report said, summarizing The Information. One source told the publication the investments were meant to set the companies up to supply DeepSeek with Nvidia's Blackwell processors, which U.S. export rules bar from sale in China. The companies reportedly invested through special purpose vehicles, so their names did not appear on DeepSeek's shareholder register.clashreport.com

During the round, DeepSeek employees reportedly introduced Shanghai Century Litong and its Shanghai-listed parent, Jiangsu Lettall Electronic, to investors. They described the two firms as "substantial suppliers of blackmarket Nvidia AI chips." Seeking Alpha reported that Lettall put in $14 million through vehicles set up by Beijing venture firm Monolith Management. Century Litong's contribution is unknown. It is also unclear whether any Blackwell chips were delivered.seekingalpha.com

Alice Huang has never held shares or executive posts at either company. The Information traced her ties to the firms through corporate records involving her husband, Kang Wei, and her sister, Huang Yu. Century Litong has previously said it has "no business dealings with Ms. Huang" and that its resources were obtained lawfully, Clash Report noted.clashreport.com

Investigations widen

The Information has reported that Alice Huang's network helped move about 240,000 Nvidia chips worth at least $7.5 billion into China. CNBC said it could not independently verify that figure. Megaspeed, the Singapore company she once led, is under U.S. criminal investigation over alleged chip smuggling, NBC News reported. On Thursday, Megaspeed said it had hired a U.S. law firm to carry out a "comprehensive census" of its GPUs, Reuters reported.cnbc.com+2

Also on Thursday, Singapore said it had barred Alice Huang from re-entering the country. Authorities said she gave police information she knew to be inaccurate, though they found insufficient evidence that she committed the offenses under investigation, according to The New York Times.nytimes.com

Leadership change at Nvidia

Jensen Huang stepped down as chief executive and gave up his board seat. Chief financial officer Colette Kress was named interim CEO, according to Bloomberg. China has rejected the spying allegations, The New Indian Express reported. DeepSeek has not publicly confirmed using restricted Blackwell processors, Business Upturn noted.newindianexpress.com+2