Democrats Open Investigation into Nvidia’s China Chip Sales and Trump Administration Dealings

Image: TechCrunch · Source

Democratic lawmakers have initiated an inquiry into Nvidia’s chip sales to China and the Trump administration’s export licensing, following the resignation of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang amid scandal.

Democratic leaders in Congress have launched an investigation into how the Trump administration managed Nvidia’s sales of advanced chips to China, focusing on alleged questionable and possibly illegal arrangements. This inquiry arises shortly after Nvidia’s founder and CEO, Jensen Huang, was ousted following revelations of an extramarital affair with a woman accused of being a Chinese spy, as well as other alleged affairs within Nvidia. The woman in question, Alice Huang, was an executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based Nvidia customer suspected by U.S. officials of facilitating the routing of advanced Nvidia chips into China.

The investigation, spearheaded by Representative Richard Neal and Senator Ron Wyden, top Democrats on their respective finance committees, questions the Commerce Department’s handling of export licenses issued under Secretary Howard Lutnick. The Democratic letter alleges that President Trump agreed to allow Nvidia’s H200 chips, manufactured in Taiwan, to be sold to China only if they were shipped first to the United States, where a tariff was imposed effectively acting as an export tax benefiting the government. This arrangement was publicly known, with Nvidia and AMD agreeing to share 15% of revenue from chip sales to China with the U.S. as part of securing export licenses.

However, the letter raises concerns about why the Commerce Department allegedly continued allowing Megaspeed to purchase chips even after intelligence reports highlighted suspicions about Alice Huang and her connection to Jensen Huang. It also questions approvals granted to other Asian companies that apparently lacked physical operations at their stated locations.

Additionally, the inquiry probes whether donations from Nvidia, totaling $26 million to projects associated with Trump, including one for a ballroom, influenced the approval process—especially since the export deal was authorized after Trump became aware of Huang’s compromised position linked to the affair with an alleged spy.

This is the second Congressional probe related to Nvidia’s China dealings since news of the espionage-related scandal emerged. A separate Republican-led committee, including the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and the House Intelligence Committee, had demanded Huang’s testimony and threatened subpoena action. Huang agreed to testify following his resignation.

The investigations delve into complex intersections among technology exports, national security concerns, political influence, and corporate governance, unfolding amid ongoing tensions over advanced chip technology transfers to China.