Data centres in South-east Asia could be the first to feel heat from Jensen Huang affair
Jensen Huang’s alleged China-linked affair may spur tighter US chip and cloud controls, threatening South-east Asian data centres serving Chinese AI firms.
News analysis
US President Donald Trump and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at an event at the White House in Washington in 2025.
PHOTO: PETE MAROVICH/NYTIMES
Bhagyashree Garekar
Updated Nov 11, 2026, 02:05 PM
- Trump backs Jensen Huang, but the affair with a suspected Chinese spy raises security fears and could lead to tighter US chip export controls.
- South-east Asian data centres in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand may face stricter controls on advanced Nvidia chips and cloud access for Chinese firms.
- Congress is pressing for action, while Nvidia is tightening its own rules, but lawmakers may avoid steps that damage a key US AI company.
PHILADELPHIA – US President Donald Trump has stood by Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang over his affair with a suspected Chinese spy, but the odds are escalating for a clampdown on the export of cutting-edge American chips, complicating South-east Asia’s AI infrastructure buildout and creating a choke point for Chinese AI start-ups.
Data centre operators in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand are in for stricter checks on purchases of advanced American chips and tighter restrictions on renting cloud computing capacity to companies in China, say US tech analysts.
Source: The Straits Times https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/data-centres-in-se-asia-could-be-the-first-to-feel-heat-from-jensen-huang-affair
