At least $7.5 billion worth of Nvidia chips moved through Singapore-based Megaspeed and its Malaysian subsidiary Speedmatrix, according to a report by The Information — and much of it may have ended up powering Chinese data centers. The alleged channel, built on a personal relationship between a Megaspeed executive and Nvidia's own chief executive, is now the subject of parallel investigations in Singapore and the United States. Every party named denies wrongdoing, and no regulator has published findings.

The reported mechanics are straightforward. Alice Huang, a Megaspeed executive, used her personal relationship with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to move the chips through the company's network, The Information reported. Between June 2024 and June 2025, Speedmatrix received more than 200 shipments of restricted Nvidia technology, according to the New York Times.

Where did the chips actually go?

The chips — subject to U.S. restrictions on sales to China — reportedly powered data centers built by Shanghai Century Litong, a Chinese firm where Alice Huang's younger sister, Huang Yu, is a founding shareholder. That firm operates in Shanghai and Shenzhen and sells high-performance AI computing capacity to Chinese tech giants including Alibaba and Tencent.

A family connection between the chip broker and the end-user's shareholder is the kind of detail export-control systems are designed to catch. Whether it was caught here is the open question; Megaspeed insists there is nothing to answer for.

Singapore says it is investigating Megaspeed for "suspected breaches of our domestic laws." It separately rejected reports that its authorities were investigating Alice Huang over espionage allegations. U.S. officials had also been investigating the company for potential export-control violations.

Megaspeed's defense is categorical. "There has been no evidence of any violations concerning the illicit transfer of chips or any illegal activities, and this demonstrates that we are a compliant and legitimate company," the company said in a December statement. "We operate fully within the bounds of all applicable export control regulations and maintain the highest standards of legal and ethical conduct."

A denial is not an audit. Neither statement addresses the shipment counts, the family shareholding, or the corporate restructuring that preceded the allegations.

What is Megaspeed, exactly?

The company is a Singapore-based "neocloud" — a provider that rents out AI computing capacity rather than selling software. Its history invites questions:

• Incorporated in 2015 as 7Road International, a Chinese gaming firm with ties to state-backed investors.
• Renamed Megaspeed in early 2023, the same year Alice Huang joined.
• Acquired in November 2023 by Swiftdata, owned by Singaporean businessman Tan Yong Pong, who became sole director; Huang stepped down as managing director.
• Tan established Speedmatrix in Malaysia in 2024 to receive chip shipments, and set up data center operations in Sedenak Tech Park, Johor.

Why Singapore and Malaysia?

The geography is not accidental. "Chinese firms can access data centers in Singapore and Malaysia — and their computing capacity — without having to import restricted semiconductors," said Ja Ian Chong, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore. "But the ease of shipping [chips] through Singapore and Malaysia also makes them attractive for firms and people who wish to circumvent U.S. controls."

Malaysia drew $94 billion in data center investment between 2021 and mid-2026 from players including Google, AWS and Microsoft, attracted by cheap land, power and water plus proximity to submarine cables. Singapore offers an open economy and hosts APAC headquarters for Anthropic and OpenAI.

Two routes exist under current rules: renting chips housed in Southeast Asian data centers to Chinese clients — legal — or buying chips through front companies and shipping them to China, potentially violating U.S. export controls. Reports allege Megaspeed did both. On Nov. 3, the Financial Times reported Oracle canceled a $7 billion deal giving Tencent access to 100,000 AI chips after U.S. officials objected; Nvidia is now telling cloud clients to sell at least 51% of services to non-Chinese customers.

What does this change for enforcement?

The loophole itself is closing. The U.S. House passed the Remote Access Security Act, which would bar Chinese companies from using AI processors housed abroad; the Senate has it now. Enforcement is already visible: Singapore charged three individuals with fraud last year for diverting AI servers to Malaysia, and in October Malaysian customs seized $12.1 million in AI chips at Kuala Lumpur airport — 30 servers falsely declared as electronic components.

Enforcement gaps persist. "AI chip distributors and resellers often spend too little effort vetting customers, usually relying on paperwork the customer provides," said Erich Grunewald of the Institute for AI Policy and Strategy, a U.S. nonpartisan think tank.

Nvidia's board said in a Nov. 8 statement it had opened an independent investigation into whether Jensen Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort, while saying it had no reason to believe "either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised." After reports of a second affair involving an Nvidia executive, the Wall Street Journal reports the board is considering removing Huang as CEO.

For Southeast Asia, the squeeze is bilateral. "They may face greater suspicion, scrutiny, restrictions and even punishment from one or both major powers going forward," Chong said of Singapore and Malaysia. What remains unsaid in every company statement is the audit trail — 200 shipments, one shareholding family, and no published regulator findings yet.