US probes if Alice Huang helped smuggle Super Micro products

• US prosecutors are probing whether Alice Huang or linked entities helped smuggle Super Micro products to China. The Manhattan US attorney’s office is leading the inquiry.
• The probe is separate from, but may overlap with, other semiconductor smuggling cases. Super Micro says it is cooperating fully and denies that Megaspeed was ever a customer.
• The case adds to a wider AI industry scandal and could strain US-China ties. China calls the spying claims a “smear”, while Justice Department probes can end without charges.

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department is probing Alice Huang, the woman US officials suspect is a spy targeting the ousted head of Nvidia, over whether entities linked to her were involved in efforts to smuggle products made by Super Micro Computer to China, according to a person familiar with the matter. 

The previously unreported scrutiny is being led by the US attorney’s office in Manhattan, said the person, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.

It is unclear whether the probe into Alice Huang is specifically tied to any of the chip smuggling cases already brought by prosecutors in the US or Asia.

The Justice Department is already spearheading an investigation into Alice Huang’s former company Megaspeed International over suspected semiconductor smuggling, Bloomberg News reported. Megaspeed has denied wrongdoing. 

Of the cases where charges have been brought, the most prominent involves Super Micro co-founder Yih-Shyan “Wally” Liaw, who, along with two others, was charged by Manhattan federal prosecutors in March over an alleged conspiracy to send Nvidia-powered servers to an unnamed South-east Asian company and then divert them to Chinese customers.

Super Micro was not named as a defendant and has said it is cooperating with the investigation. Liaw, who pleaded not guilty, is no longer at the company.

Super Micro declined to comment on prosecutors’ scrutiny of Alice Huang before publication.

“Super Micro has been responsive to inquiries and has fully cooperated with US and Taiwanese officials, while also voluntarily providing information and engaging with all requests from Singapore authorities to date,” the company said in a subsequent statement.

“Megaspeed is not, and has never been, a Supermicro customer. Supermicro maintains a robust compliance program and continues to work closely with authorities and industry partners to combat diversion and help protect American innovation.”

Spokespeople for the Justice Department and the Manhattan US attorney’s office also declined to comment.

It was not immediately clear what potential role Alice Huang, or entities connected to her, could have played in smuggling Super Micro products into China. Justice Department probes can end without charges. 

Alice Huang is living in Beijing with the knowledge of security officials, Bloomberg News reported, and attempts to reach her were unsuccessful.

Alice Huang, who is also known as Huang Le, was in former Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang’s orbit through Megaspeed, the largest buyer of Nvidia’s chips in South-east Asia, Bloomberg News reported. 

The scrutiny from US prosecutors represents another twist in a rapidly unfolding scandal that has engulfed the booming artificial intelligence industry.

The Justice Department is conducting an espionage probe that includes looking at her relationship with Jensen Huang, said the person familiar with the effort. 

No conclusions have been reached by the Justice Department regarding “who she is or is not” regarding whether Alice Huang acted as a Chinese spy, Attorney-General Todd Blanche said on Nov 12.

Jensen Huang’s disclosure on Nov 8 that he had an extramarital affair plunged Nvidia into an unprecedented crisis, fuelling a sharp sell-off in the company’s shares and ultimately his ouster as chief executive officer on Nov 12.

Jensen Huang is not a target of probes by US law enforcement, according to the source. Jensen Huang and Alice Huang are not related.

Deepening scrutiny of her activities also underscores how Jensen Huang’s admission has reverberated between Silicon Valley, Washington and Beijing.

China has rejected the spying allegations as a “smear”, but the episode threatens to emerge as an irritant in a high-stakes upcoming meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Bloomberg News has reported that the unnamed South-east Asia company referenced in the March indictment was Bangkok-based OBON. OBON has not responded to requests for comment.

According to US prosecutors, two unidentified third-party brokers were also involved in diverting servers to China.

“We have taken action against all identified employees and those parties no longer have any relationship with Super Micro,” CEO Charles Liang said in a public letter to stakeholders in March.

“Mr Wally Liaw has also resigned from the company’s board of directors.” 

Super Micro said in August, following an independent probe, that its current senior management had no knowledge of the alleged scheme. BLOOMBERG