Megaspeed International: 10 Facts About Singapore Chip Buyer at the Center of Nvidia's Jensen Huang Scandal

SINGAPORE — A little-known Singapore data center company has become a focus of one of the biggest controversies in the technology industry this year.

Singapore-based cloud computing company Megaspeed is in the international spotlight after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admitted to being unfaithful to his wife, following reports linking him to Megaspeed executive Alice Huang. The company has previously been probed for allegedly supplying China with Nvidia chips.

Here are 10 things to know about Megaspeed International and its role in the unfolding scandal.

1. It is a Singapore-registered data center and cloud company

Megaspeed operates in the business of renting out computing power. It is a data center firm that rents out computing power to other companies to train and run AI.

The company describes itself in close terms with the chipmaker. Megaspeed's website says it is "a core business partner of Nvidia's computing power cloud business in the Asia-Pacific region."

The company has kept a low public profile. When AFP called the number on Megaspeed's website, the person who answered was unfamiliar with the company and described the number as a residential line.

2. It used to have a different name with Chinese gaming links

Megaspeed's corporate history is central to questions about its ties to China. The company, first registered in Singapore in 2015, was previously called 7Road International, which is also the name of a Shenzhen-based gaming firm. It changed its name to Megaspeed in March 2023, the same month Huang Le assumed her position there.

U.S. lawmakers have focused on that background. Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, described Megaspeed as a spin-off of Chinese government-owned cloud company 7Road.

3. It became one of Nvidia's biggest regional customers

The company grew rapidly into a major buyer of Nvidia hardware. Megaspeed International, which used to be a small part of a Chinese gaming company, became Nvidia's biggest customer in Southeast Asia.

Megaspeed has reportedly bought billions of dollars' worth of chips from Nvidia for its data centers.

4. It is accused of helping Chinese firms dodge U.S. export controls

The core allegation involves America's restrictions on advanced chip sales to China. Megaspeed is under investigation by U.S. authorities over allegations that it helped Chinese firms circumvent American export restrictions on advanced AI chips.

The New York Times reported that the U.S. government had been probing Megaspeed since 2024 over its potential steering of Nvidia chips to China.

According to the Times, Megaspeed used its Malaysian subsidiary to buy nearly $2 billion worth of Nvidia's most advanced AI chips.

The allegations have not been proven, and no charges against Megaspeed have been made public.

5. Singapore police are also investigating

U.S. officials are not the only ones looking into the company. The Singapore Police Force confirmed that an investigation into Megaspeed is active, focused on "suspected breaches of our domestic laws."

Police said on Oct. 30 that the investigation remained ongoing.

The probe has been publicly known for some time. Bloomberg News reported last year on the Singaporean investigation into Megaspeed over the alleged smuggling of Nvidia chips to China.

6. Alice Huang was a senior executive there

The company's link to the scandal runs through one executive. At the time of the reported relationship, Alice Huang was said to be a top executive at Megaspeed International.

Her exact role remains unclear. Alice Huang's formal position at Megaspeed remains unclear, including whether she oversaw the company's dealings with Nvidia.

She has reportedly left the company. Jensen Huang has said his relationship and interactions with Alice Huang, who is "no longer with Megaspeed," were related to the company and were "all completely normal and not unusual."

The New York Times reported that Alice Huang is a Chinese citizen recruited by Beijing to collect intelligence on the Nvidia boss. China has denied the allegations, and Alice Huang has not publicly commented.

7. Singapore says it has not investigated Alice Huang's alleged spy ties

Singapore's government has drawn a clear line between its probe of the company and the espionage claims. Despite confirming investigations into Megaspeed, Singapore has denied investigating Alice Huang's ties to China. "And there were no such investigations conducted in respect of Alice Huang," the home affairs ministry said.

On Oct. 31, Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs denied claims that authorities had investigated Alice Huang over her alleged ties to Jensen Huang or Chinese intelligence.

That contrasts with other reporting. Bloomberg previously listed her as one of the people collaborating with a Singapore police investigation into the company's activities in relation to China.

8. A U.S. senator demanded a federal investigation

Concern about Megaspeed reached Capitol Hill well before the current scandal. Cotton wrote to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick requesting an investigation into Megaspeed, saying it had received billions of dollars of U.S. chips, potentially violating U.S. export laws.

He asked officials to examine the company's background, "including suspicious ownership, affiliations, or ties to U.S chip companies."

His office cited reported details of how the chips moved. It pointed to a complicated routing of chips through a subsidiary of Inspur, a sanctioned Chinese company, near-empty offices in Malaysia and Singapore, and a Malaysian data center where U.S. chips were still in boxes.

9. Nvidia and authorities previously reported finding no violations

Nvidia has defended its dealings with the company. According to CNBC, the U.S. Commerce Department, Malaysia's Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry and Nvidia had found "no evidence of any violations concerning the illicit transfer of chips or any illegal activities."

The company's orders also slowed. According to Cotton's office, once Malaysian and Singaporean officials began cracking down on chip smuggling in the summer, Megaspeed stopped ordering from Nvidia.

10. It is now part of Nvidia's board investigation

Megaspeed's relationship with Nvidia is now under fresh scrutiny inside the chipmaker itself. While Jensen Huang did not name Megaspeed or Alice Huang in his statement, he acknowledged his infidelity and said Nvidia's board had begun an independent investigation "regarding the national security concerns raised in news reports."

Nvidia has sought to reassure investors. The company says it has no reason to believe its secrets or national security were compromised, while Singapore confirms an ongoing investigation into Megaspeed.

Why it matters

The Megaspeed case sits at the intersection of two major issues: America's effort to keep cutting-edge AI chips out of China and questions about how closely chipmakers track where their products end up. The New York Times reported that the inquiry calls into question how closely Nvidia is tracking where its AI chips end up and highlights the possibility of American export laws being easily sidestepped.

Washington restricts the export to China of Nvidia's most cutting-edge chips, citing national security concerns, a policy also seen as a way to stay ahead in AI.

Investigations by U.S. and Singaporean authorities remain open, and Nvidia's internal review is ongoing. None of the allegations against Megaspeed or Alice Huang have been proven in court.