Singapore, Nov 13, 2026 (AFP) — Singapore-based tech group Megaspeed dealt in billions of dollars’ worth of the world’s most advanced AI chips, but its office was an empty shell when AFP visited; its staff seemingly vanished long before claims of espionage landed at their door.
Megaspeed’s former director Alice Huang was this week outed as an alleged Chinese spy, accused of having an affair with Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang while digging up company secrets for Beijing.
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director → base → Beijing
Details about Alice Huang’s life are vague, making it almost impossible to pin down where she lives, where she works, or when she was born.
But her influence undoubtedly spreads far and wide, from the nondescript Singapore office, to hulking data centres in Southeast Asia, to the gleaming boardrooms of Silicon Valley.
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influence → make → Valley
Her connection to cloud computing firm Megaspeed sits at the centre of the scandal.
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connection → sit → scandal
Megaspeed touts itself as a company at the heart of the AI revolution, using Nvidia’s advanced silicon chips to power high-performance computing inside vast data centres.
But it is also under investigation for serving a murkier purpose.
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it → tout → purpose
Under the guise of buying computer hardware for its Southeast Asia data hubs, Megaspeed has allegedly helped Beijing skirt trade restrictions by sending Nvidia chips into China.
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Beijing → buy → China
Beijing has denied allegations of spying, and Megaspeed said it was investigating if it had complied with export controls on the sensitive chips.
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it → deny → chips
At Megaspeed’s office in the heart of the Singapore business district, no staff could be seen behind its locked glass doors.
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staff → see → doors
Neighbours told AFP they had not seen anyone come or go for the past few months.
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anyone → tell → months
Likewise, in a mall at a newly developed neighbourhood in Johor, in the Malaysian region a bridge away from Singapore, no employees were around in subsidiary Speedmatrix’s office.
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employees → develop → office
Singapore police opened an investigation in February 2025 into Megaspeed and several other companies suspected of circumventing or violating export controls.
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police → open → controls
Alice Huang was interviewed as part of Singapore’s probe.
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Huang → interview → probe
Although no charges were laid, she was barred from the city-state in February 2026 for providing inaccurate information to “downplay her role in Megaspeed”, Singapore’s home ministry said.
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ministry → lay → Megaspeed
– Explosive growth –
Corporate records show Huang’s direct involvement in the birth of Megaspeed.
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records → show → Megaspeed
A company linked to her acquired the Singapore arm of Chinese video game developer 7Road International in early 2023, the records showed.
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records → link → 2023
Almost immediately, the 7Road name was ditched and changed to Megaspeed International.
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name → ditch → International
Huang was listed as a Megaspeed director for less than a year, taking the role between March and November 2023.
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Huang → list → March
Her arrival coincided with a drastic change in fortunes, as Megaspeed pivoted from a little-known video game maker to one of Asia’s biggest buyers of Nvidia chips.
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Megaspeed → coincide → chips
Within 12 months, Megaspeed’s revenue jumped from $0 to almost US$300 million, according to company accounts filed in 2024.
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revenue → jump → 2024
Megaspeed — which described itself as a “cloud hosting services provider” — saw the value of its assets skyrocket from $32 million to almost $3 billion over the same period.
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value → describe → period
Just one of Nvidia’s advanced AI computer chips can cost tens of thousands of dollars.
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one → cost → dollars
Over two years, Megaspeed reportedly traded in upwards of $4 billion worth of Nvidia chips.
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Megaspeed → trade → chips
A financial trail weaving through Singapore, Malaysia and the Cayman Islands suggests Megaspeed’s business may have been boosted by a connection to Chinese tech giant Alibaba.
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business → weave → Alibaba
Megaspeed has a Malaysian subsidiary that struck a deal in 2024, pledging assets to Apex Enterprise Solutions in Singapore as security in case of contractual breaches.
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that → have → breaches
Apex is linked through a parent company to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, a firm registered in the Cayman Islands, Singapore corporate data shows.
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data → link → Islands
By that time, Huang was no longer registered as a director at Megaspeed.
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Huang → register → Megaspeed
But Singapore authorities said she remained one of Megaspeed’s “key controllers”.
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she → say → controllers
Megaspeed’s ultimate holding company is a Singapore firm called Swiftdata.
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company → hold → ?
Singapore businessman Tan Yong Pong — who has previously run printing and graphic design companies — is a director of both Megaspeed and Swiftdata.
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who → run → Megaspeed
No one answered when AFP visited Tan’s registered address in eastern Singapore, although dogs could be heard barking behind the door.
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dogs → answer → door
I occasionally bump into the lady at the lift landing when she’s walking her dog,” an elderly neighbour told AFP.
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neighbour → bump → AFP
“But we have not seen them for months.”
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we → see → months
– Awkward questions –
In June 2025, US investigators turned up at Megaspeed to carry out a “post-shipment verification”, with Huang present, according to Singapore’s home ministry, adding that it was the first time it found out about Washington’s probe.
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it → turn → probe
That same day, Huang was interviewed by Singapore police, who impounded her passport.
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who → interview → passport
By then, she and Nvidia boss Jensen Huang had already been spotted together in public.
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she → spot → public
In one of their early outings together, they were seen mingling at an after-party following the Computex trade show in Taiwan at the beginning of 2024.
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they → see → 2024
Trump was briefed on the intelligence findings about their relationship well before it exploded into a public scandal, but said Sunday he did not regret not acting on it.
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he → brief → it
“No, I don’t think so.
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I → think → ?
I think — you know, he’s an honourable guy,” Trump said.
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Trump → think → ?
But the scandal has sparked national security fears.
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scandal → spark → fears
China and the United States are fighting for supremacy in artificial intelligence, and Nvidia’s market-leading products have become a major point of contention.
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products → fight → contention
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
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