Megaspeed Lawyers Up With Us Firm As Nvidia Scandal Broadens

SINGAPORE — A Singapore-based company at the center of the emerging scandal engulfing AI chipmaker Nvidia said Thursday that it has hired a U.S. law firm for what is likely to be a wave of intense legal and congressional scrutiny.

Megaspeed, a cloud provider that employed a Chinese executive who had an affair with ousted Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, said in a statement that the law firm would help to “independently verify its export control compliance practices.”

Megaspeed did not identify the law firm and did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.

The company has been thrust into the global spotlight in recent weeks after revelations that the executive, Alice Huang, had an affair with the then-CEO of Nvidia and was suspected of being a Chinese spy.

Jensen Huang resigned Thursday as members of Congress call for investigations into whether his relationship with the Megaspeed executive damaged U.S. national security.

Megaspeed has been a major purchaser of advanced Nvidia chips that are covered by U.S. export controls. U.S. officials suspect the company smuggled Nvidia chips into China in violation of U.S. law, according to reports.

The Megaspeed website, which is replete with references to Nvidia, lists three data centers vaguely located in “East South Asia.” Southeast Asia is a major hub for chip smuggling.

“Megaspeed has cooperated with inspections by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and stands ready to cooperate fully with any other relevant U.S. government authority,” Megaspeed CEO James Tan Yong Pong said in a statement posted to the company’s website.

Tan said the “leading” U.S. law firm will also “lead a comprehensive census of its graphics processing units.” GPUs are advanced chips used for artificial intelligence.

POLITICO was unable to contact Megaspeed and its parent company, Swiftdata, earlier in the week after visiting the companies’ offices. Swiftdata’s listed office is occupied by an interior design firm. Tan has not responded to POLITICO requests via LinkedIn.

Also on Thursday, the Singaporean government said it barred Huang from reentering the country earlier this year.

“While Singapore does not enforce unilateral export controls imposed by other countries, we expect all companies operating here to take into account such regulations, including export controls, in their international business activities,” the Ministry of Home Affairs said. “Singapore does not condone companies using their association with Singapore to circumvent or violate other countries’ export controls through fraud or dishonest practices.”

The statement said Huang was “investigated for suspected involvement in the possible offences in Singapore, given her position as then-CEO” of Megaspeed.

A Singapore Police Force investigation into Megaspeed is ongoing. The Ministry of Home Affairs said it “has to date received limited information or assistance in respect of the company” from U.S. authorities.

The Megaspeed episode is likely to boost Singaporean oversight and enforcement “to protect the country's reputation as a clean financial and logistics hub,” Neil Shah, co-founder of tech-focused Counterpoint Research, told POLITICO.

“We anticipate that Singapore’s customs, corporate registries, and trade bodies will strengthen local checks and align with U.S. end-use reviews so the wider data center network avoids penalties tied to these shell intermediaries,” he said.