Megaspeed draws fresh scrutiny over Nvidia chip access and Singapore probe

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Megaspeed faces Nvidia, Singapore probes

Highlights

Megaspeed International's assets surged to $3 billion in 2024 from $33 million in 2023, with revenue increasing to $294 million and after-tax loss widening to $20 million.
Singapore authorities are investigating Megaspeed over suspected breaches of domestic laws linked to alleged diversion of Nvidia chips, with probes ongoing as of June 2024.
U.S. scrutiny persists regarding Megaspeed's potential role in helping Beijing access Nvidia’s restricted advanced AI chips, while Singapore denies government investigations into Alice Huang's ties to Nvidia CEO or Chinese intelligence.

Corporate structure and financial expansion

As reported by Reuters, Megaspeed 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 Singapore-registered Swiftdata, which was incorporated in October 2023 and lists hosting services by non-data centers as its principal activity.

Two Singapore citizens are listed as officers of both companies. Tan Yong Peng was appointed a director of Swiftdata on October 31, 2023, and became a director of Megaspeed less than two weeks later, while Huang Le ended an eight-month tenure as Megaspeed's managing director in the same month, media reports said. Huang Le is identified in the article as the Chinese name of Alice Huang.

Megaspeed says on its website that it is an Nvidia Cloud Partner in the Asia-Pacific region and offers access to Nvidia's GB200 NVL72 and HGX H100 systems. Its business filings show assets rising to $3 billion in 2024 from $33 million in 2023, while revenue increases to $294 million from zero and its after-tax loss widens to $20 million from $21,283.

Regulatory pressure in Singapore and the U.S.

Megaspeed has faced U.S. scrutiny over suspicions that it helped Beijing gain access to Nvidia's advanced AI chips, whose export to China is restricted. Reuters said Megaspeed did not respond to a request for comment, while Swiftdata could not immediately be reached.

In October last year, Singapore police said they were investigating Megaspeed over suspected breaches of domestic laws after a U.S. senator asked the Commerce Department to examine whether the company had diverted Nvidia chips. The investigations are still continuing, according to the city-state's home affairs ministry.

Last month, the ministry responded to Wall Street Journal remarks that Singapore was concerned about Alice Huang's ties to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and that authorities were separately investigating her alleged links to Chinese intelligence. The ministry said neither the Singapore government nor its officials made such statements, and added that no such investigations were conducted in respect of Alice Huang.

Earlier, we reported that only about 35% of planned U.S. AI data center projects were considered realistic amid delays and financing strain.

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