The unusual global footprint of Megaspeed International, the Singapore-based company at the center of the
Chinese spy scandal, is fueling questions about whether it's a front for the Chinese government.
asserted
it → base → government
One of Megaspeed's leaders is Alice Huang, the woman with whom Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was having an affair, and who is suspected by U.S. intelligence of being an asset of
.
asserted
who → have → intelligence
In the past three years, Megaspeed, formerly a gaming company, has been one of Nvidia's biggest foreign customers, purchasing nearly $5 billion in AI chips and advanced hardware, The New York Times first reported.
asserted
Times → purchase → chips
And yet Megaspeed's corporate headquarters sat practically empty, according to The Straits Times, an English-language newspaper in Singapore.
uncertain
headquarters → sit → Singapore
Questions have also been raised about its outposts in Australia and Malaysia.
asserted
Questions → raise → Australia
Published reports in recent days revealed that the company listed a newspaper vendor as the director of its Australian subsidiary, and one of its Malaysia offices consisted of a dilapidated storefront outside Kuala Lumpur.
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one → reveal → Lumpur
Yet another Malaysia office was tucked into a shopping mall.
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office → tuck → mall
Megaspeed began as an offshoot of a China-based gaming firm and grew into a juggernaut by gaining access to restricted Nvidia AI computer chips.
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Megaspeed → begin → chips
U.S. investigators say that Alice Huang used her contacts in the industry and a series of shell companies to gain access to 240,000 chips banned for export into China.
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Huang → say → China
Now it is being probed in both the U.S. and Singapore for allegedly smuggling those chips into China.
uncertain
it → probe → China
President Trump said this week the FBI is also investigating romantic and business ties between Nvidia's chief executive Jensen Huang and Alice Huang (who are not related).
asserted
who → say → executive
Earlier this week, Jensen Huang, who is married, apologized for the affair in a statement to Nvidia's employees.
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who → apologize → employees
The company launched an independent
, and an Nvidia shareholder filed a class action lawsuit Tuesday alleging that Huang concealed a relationship with Alice Huang and misled shareholders about national security concerns raised by the relationship.
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Huang → launch → relationship
Nvidia's board said it had no reason to believe that the company's secrets or national security were compromised.
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secrets → say → reason
"The Board prioritizes U.S. national and economic security, which is paramount to the interests of NVIDIA and its shareholders," its statement said.
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statement → prioritize → NVIDIA
China expert Jacqueline Deal said that Nvidia's advanced AI chips could have ended up with the Chinese military.
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chips → say → military
Deal, who is an adviser to State Armor, a nonprofit that studies global security threats, told CBS News, "If allegations are true, who will be fired?
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who → study → News
Nvidia has a compliance team that may have failed utterly.
uncertain
that → have → team
"
She also questioned the effectiveness of the U.S. Commerce Department, which has jurisdiction over export controls that may have been bypassed, potentially giving the Chinese military access to the world's most advanced chips.
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that → question → chips
Here's what we now know about Megaspeed:
It is a major Nvidia customer.
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is → know → Megaspeed
Megaspeed and its Malaysian affiliate, Speedmatrix, purchased $4.8 billion of Nvidia's advanced artificial intelligence equipment and processors over the last three years.
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Megaspeed → purchase → years
In 2025, Megaspeed International faced an investigation by Singapore police for alleged breaches of local laws, but no details have emerged about the probe, according to The Straits Times.
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details → face → Times
The company grew rapidly.
asserted
company → grow → ?
"Megaspeed International is a premier business partner of NVIDIA, strategically positioned in the Asia Pacific region," according to its LinkedIn profile, which claims it has between 201 and 500 employees.
uncertain
it → position → employees
Three years ago it listed between two and 10 employees, according to the South China Morning Post.
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it → list → Post
Megaspeed International did not reply to a request for comment.
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International → reply → comment
It posted an "official statement" on its website addressing what it called "misleading information" and "incorrect insinuations" accusing it of involvement in illegal chip transfers.
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it → post → transfers
"We want to be absolutely clear over the past six months our company has undergone multiple on-site inspections and reviews by key institutions, including the Bureau of Industry and Security of the US Commerce Department, the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry of Malaysia and NVIDIA," said the message, which also appeared on the company's LinkedIn page.
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which → want → page
"These thorough investigations have confirmed that there has been no evidence of any violations concerning the illicit transfer of chips or any illegal activities," the company said.
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company → confirm → chips
Megaspeed was originally incorporated in 2015 under the name 7Road International, a subsidiary of a Chinese developer of popular video games and mobile apps based in Shenzhen, China, according to corporate filings.
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Megaspeed → incorporate → filings
Huang Le Limited, a shell company in the British Virgin Islands, acquired 7Road International in March 2023.
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Limited → acquire → March
That same month, 7Road International was renamed Megaspeed International, and Huang became its managing director.
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Huang → rename → ?
The company also launched a subsidiary called Speedmatrix.
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company → launch → subsidiary
By the end of October 2023, Huang and another Megaspeed director, Cang Yang, resigned from the company after it was bought up by a firm called Swiftdata, whose director is based in China, documents show.
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documents → resign → China
But there's some indication Huang may still be affiliated with the company.
uncertain
Huang → be → company
Culper Research, an activist short-selling firm, published a 40-page report on Nvidia in May that cited Megaspeed employees who said Huang was still running the company.
uncertain
Huang → publish → company
The report also raised some concern about Jensen Huang's relationship with Megaspeed and Alice Huang, stating, "Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has not only vouched for Megaspeed, but seems to have quite literally walked alongside Megaspeed at every step, while maintaining an uncomfortably close relationship with Megaspeed's Alice Huang, a Chinese national."
Megaspeed lists its headquarters office address on the seventh floor of the Ocean Financial Centre in Singapore, a glass office tower in Singapore's central business district.
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Megaspeed → raise → district
When the Straits Times and The New York Times visited the Singapore offices around the same time late last year, they found little or no staff working.
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they → visit → staff
The Straits Times said the door was locked, and the Times found just two people in its office on a workday.
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Times → say → workday
Megaspeed has an Australian subsidiary on the 10th floor of a commercial and retail tower in the heart of Sydney's central business district.
asserted
Megaspeed → have → district
…and 3 more, not listed.
The Aporia
