SINGAPORE — Megaspeed, a Singapore-based cloud computing firm, is facing renewed scrutiny as the United States investigates Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's affair with Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang, who has been alleged to be a spy for Beijing. Ms. Huang previously served as an executive at Megaspeed.

Here are the key details about the company, drawn from business filings and official statements.

What Is Megaspeed?

Megaspeed, an Nvidia customer, was incorporated in 2015 as 7Road International before changing its name to Megaspeed International in March 2023, according to its business filings.

The company is wholly owned by Swiftdata, a Singapore-registered firm incorporated in October 2023 that lists providing hosting services by non-data centers as its principal activity.

Two Singapore citizens are listed as officers of both companies. Tan Yong Pong was appointed a director of Swiftdata on October 31, 2023, before becoming a director of Megaspeed less than two weeks later. That same month, Huang Le — Alice Huang's Chinese name — ended an eight-month tenure as managing director of Megaspeed, according to media reports.

Swiftdata also shares an address with Ng Wei Shi Khloe, who is listed as company secretary of both companies. Mr. Tan and Ms. Ng are the only officers listed in the two firms' business filings.

Reuters could not immediately contact Swiftdata, and Megaspeed did not respond to a request for comment.

US Scrutiny and Nvidia Links

Megaspeed has faced US scrutiny over suspicions that it helped Beijing gain access to Nvidia's advanced AI chips, whose export to China is restricted. Because direct sales of those chips into China are barred, enforcement attention has increasingly focused on third-country intermediaries through which Nvidia hardware can move. On its website, the company describes itself as an Nvidia Cloud Partner in the Asia-Pacific region, offering access to Nvidia's GB200 NVL72 and HGX H100 systems — Nvidia's high-end data-center platforms for AI workloads, and the category of hardware those restrictions cover.

The company's filings also point to a dramatic expansion. Megaspeed's assets surged to $3 billion in 2024 from $33 million in 2023. It reported an after-tax loss of $20 million in 2024, compared with a loss of $21,283 a year earlier, while revenue jumped to $294 million from zero. Its cash flow statement showed $844,555 going to investing activities in 2024, after financing activities brought in cash of $10 million the previous year.

Singapore's Role

Last October, Singapore police said they were investigating Megaspeed over “suspected breaches of our domestic laws” after a US senator requested the Commerce Department to investigate whether the company had diverted Nvidia chips.

Last month, Singapore's home affairs ministry responded to remarks in the Wall Street Journal stating that Singapore was concerned about Alice Huang's ties to Jensen Huang, and that authorities were separately investigating her alleged links to Chinese intelligence.

“We would like to make clear that neither the Singapore Government nor its officials said this. And there were no such investigations conducted in respect of Alice Huang,” the ministry said, while adding that investigations into Megaspeed continue. The ministry did not immediately respond to a request for further comment on Tuesday.

The wealthy city-state has in recent years become a key site for Chinese firms to set up offices, in an effort to “Singapore-wash” — that is, to domicile in trade-focused Singapore to reduce risks arising from China-US tension. That pattern matters for enforcement because export controls turn on where restricted hardware ultimately ends up, not only where a buyer is incorporated.

Singapore has said it does not enforce “unilateral export controls imposed by other countries,” but acts “firmly against companies and individuals who violate our laws and are engaged in fraudulent and dishonest practices.” It is currently investigating four other individuals charged with chip fraud in an unrelated case.

From here, the markers to watch are the outcome of Singapore's continuing investigation into Megaspeed, any public response from the company or Swiftdata — neither has responded to requests for comment so far — and any further statement from the home affairs ministry, which so far has said only that its Megaspeed probe continues.

— Reuters

Originally reported by Reuters and published by BusinessWorld: What we know about Megaspeed, Singapore-based customer of Nvidia