Singapore-based cloud provider Megaspeed International said on 12 November that it had hired a US law firm to review its export-control practices and count its graphics processing units, Yahoo News reported. The announcement came as Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs said it had barred Alice Huang, Megaspeed’s former chief executive, from reentering the country earlier in 2026. US officials are reported to suspect Megaspeed of smuggling Nvidia chips into China. Singapore’s police are investigating the company.
Key points
- Megaspeed says US lawyers will independently review its export-control practices and conduct a census of its GPUs.
- Singapore barred former Megaspeed chief executive Alice Huang from reentry earlier in 2026.
- Singapore’s police investigation into Megaspeed continues; the government says US authorities have provided limited information or assistance.
- Nvidia says concerns about Megaspeed were investigated and debunked, while US officials are reported to suspect chip diversion to China.
Megaspeed commissions a GPU census
Megaspeed said the lawyers would “independently verify its export control compliance practices”. Its chief executive, James Tan Yong Pong, said the firm would also “lead a comprehensive census of its graphics processing units”. The proposed inventory concerns the chips used in AI systems, rather than a general review of the company’s data centres. Megaspeed did not identify the law firm, Yahoo News reported.
Tan said Megaspeed “has cooperated with inspections by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security” and was prepared to cooperate with other relevant US authorities. That account of cooperation comes from the company. The Bureau of Industry and Security is the US Commerce Department agency responsible for export controls; Megaspeed’s separate appointment of lawyers puts the review of its own practices and chip inventory in private hands.
US officials suspect Megaspeed smuggled Nvidia chips into China in breach of US law, according to reports described by Yahoo News. The company’s purchases involve advanced Nvidia chips covered by US export controls. AI Affairs has also reported on a US Justice Department probe into Nvidia alongside inquiries involving Megaspeed and Supermicro. Megaspeed’s announced review concerns its own compliance practices and GPUs.
Nvidia disputes the Megaspeed concerns
Nvidia says the concerns about Megaspeed were “investigated and debunked”, Yahoo Finance reported on 10 November. Nvidia has also maintained that the US government did not tell it Megaspeed posed an intelligence concern. Those are Nvidia’s accounts of the matter, alongside the reported suspicions held by US officials about whether its chips reached China.
Nvidia said on 10 November that it had hired New York law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to investigate Jensen Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang, with attorney Joon Kim leading the work. The FBI is conducting its own probe. Nvidia’s board said when announcing its investigation that it had no reason to believe company secrets or national security had been compromised.
Alice Huang was a Megaspeed executive and is alleged to be a spy for Beijing. Jensen Huang acknowledged a relationship with her outside his marriage. He resigned as Nvidia chief executive on 12 November. The House Committee on Foreign Affairs’ congressional leaders have asked him to attend a closed-door briefing, Yahoo Finance reported. The committee can subpoena him if it decides to compel his appearance.
Singapore bars Alice Huang from reentry
Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs said on 12 November that Huang had been investigated over suspected involvement in possible offences in Singapore because she was Megaspeed’s chief executive at the time. Its decision to bar her from reentry concerns Huang personally. The Singapore Police Force investigation into the company remains ongoing.
The ministry drew a distinction between enforcing another country’s unilateral export controls and expecting companies operating in Singapore to take those controls into account in their international activities. It said Singapore “does not condone companies using their association with Singapore to circumvent or violate other countries’ export controls through fraud or dishonest practices”. That position places the government’s stated concern on conduct by companies operating from Singapore, even where the export restrictions originate elsewhere.
Neil Shah, co-founder of Counterpoint Research, told POLITICO he expected the episode to bring closer Singaporean oversight of customs, corporate records and trade activity, including checks aligned with US reviews of where chips are ultimately used. The Ministry of Home Affairs said Singapore had “to date received limited information or assistance in respect of the company” from US authorities.
