Key Notes
- The NYT reports that a Commerce review of Megaspeed stopped after a senior Nvidia employee contacted officials, before the case shifted to Justice.
- Nvidia and Megaspeed have previously denied illegal chip diversion.
- Singapore confirmed a separate company inquiry, while Nvidia’s board is reviewing reports that Huang was targeted by foreign intelligence.
A senior Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) employee contacted US Commerce Department officials during an investigation into suspected chip diversion by Singapore-based Megaspeed, before the case was transferred to the Justice Department, according to a November 9 New York Times report.
The account brings Nvidia’s handling of a customer under export-control scrutiny into focus as its board separately examines reports that chief executive Jensen Huang was targeted by foreign intelligence.
Commerce Review Gave Way to a Justice Case
The Commerce inquiry had been running for several months, the Times reported. After a senior Nvidia employee approached officials, the department’s review stopped and the case was passed to Justice, according to the report.
The allegations concern whether Megaspeed helped move advanced Nvidia AI chips into China in violation of US restrictions. The reported agency transfer does not establish that the case was dismissed or that the company was cleared.
Megaspeed Denies Illegal Chip Transfers
Megaspeed has rejected the diversion allegations. In a company statement dated December 23, 2025, still displayed on its website, it said inspections and reviews by the US Bureau of Industry and Security, Malaysia’s trade ministry and Nvidia had found no evidence of illegal chip transfers.
The company said it complied with applicable export-control rules and disputed reporting about its operations. That is Megaspeed’s account of those reviews, rather than a published decision from US investigators closing the matter.
Huang previously defended Nvidia’s dealings with the company. Reuters reported on October 29, citing Bloomberg, that he said Nvidia had checked Megaspeed’s GPU deployments and found no illegal diversion to China.
Singapore Confirmed a Separate Inquiry
Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs published a clarification on October 31 reproducing a police response from the previous day: investigations into Megaspeed were ongoing, and authorities could not provide further details.
The ministry also rejected claims that Singapore officials had investigated former Megaspeed executive Alice Huang over alleged Chinese intelligence ties. Its statement distinguished the corporate inquiry from allegations about her personal contacts and intelligence connections.
Nvidia’s Directors Review Intelligence Reports
Nvidia’s board announcement on November 8 assigned its own inquiry to independent directors assisted by outside counsel. Directors expressed confidence in Huang and said they had no reason to believe national security or Nvidia secrets had been compromised, while committing to examine all available information.
In a separate staff letter, Huang admitted infidelity, apologized to his family and colleagues and pledged to cooperate. He did not name the other person or establish whether espionage occurred.
The board review and export investigation raise different questions for shareholders: whether Nvidia protected sensitive information around its chief executive, and how the company dealt with a customer facing scrutiny over where its chips ended up. Huang’s earlier defense of the customer was emphatic: “We’ve studied all their deployments of our GPUs and counted every one,” he told Bloomberg in October, according to Reuters.
