Megaspeed International, the Singapore-based company at the center of an investigation into alleged illegal chip exports to China, maintained surprisingly skeletal operations despite being one of Nvidia's largest foreign customers, according to reports from The New York Times and The Straits Times. The company and its Malaysian affiliate Speedmatrix purchased $4.8 billion of Nvidia's advanced artificial intelligence equipment and processors over the last three years, yet its listed headquarters on the seventh floor of Singapore's Ocean Financial Centre appeared practically empty when visited by journalists, with little or no staff present on workdays.
Alice Huang, listed as Megaspeed's managing director, is at the center of a separate controversy involving Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang. U.S. intelligence suspects Alice Huang of being an asset of China's Ministry of State Security. Investigators say she used industry contacts and shell companies to gain access to 240,000 Nvidia chips banned for export to China, and the company is now being probed in both the U.S. and Singapore for allegedly smuggling those chips into the country. Jensen Huang, who is married, has apologized for having an affair with Alice Huang, and Nvidia's board launched an independent investigation. An Nvidia shareholder filed a class action lawsuit alleging he concealed the relationship and misled shareholders about national security concerns. However, Nvidia's board stated it had no reason to believe the company's secrets or national security were compromised.
Megaspeed's corporate footprint raises additional red flags. Its Australian subsidiary lists as director Kai Kang, a 29-year-old newspaper vendor whose newsstand is located over 400 miles from the Sydney office address. Kang's father told Australia's ABC News he had never heard of Megaspeed. The company also maintains a Malaysia office described as a dilapidated storefront outside Kuala Lumpur and another tucked into a shopping mall. The company grew rapidly in headcount, expanding from between two and ten employees three years ago to between 201 and 500 according to its LinkedIn profile.
Megaspeed was originally incorporated in 2015 as 7Road International, a subsidiary of a Chinese video game developer based in Shenzhen. In March 2023, a shell company named Huang Le Limited, which is the Chinese name of Alice Huang, acquired the firm. The company was then renamed Megaspeed International. By October 2023, Huang resigned after the company was acquired by Swiftdata, whose director is based in China, though activist short-seller Culper Research cited employees suggesting Huang remained involved.
Megaspeed denied the allegations in a statement posted on its website and LinkedIn page, saying the company had undergone multiple inspections by the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, Malaysia's Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, and Nvidia itself. The company stated these investigations found no evidence of violations or illegal chip transfers. For investors and business partners in the U.S., the case raises concerns about the effectiveness of export controls and the vetting of major customers for sensitive technology sales.