Megaspeed touts itself as a company at the heart of the AI revolution, using Nvidia\u2019s advanced silicon chips to power high-performance computing inside vast data centres.<\/p>\n
But it is also under investigation for serving a murkier purpose.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Beijing has denied allegations of spying, and Megaspeed said it was investigating if it had complied with export controls on the sensitive chips.<\/p>\n
At Megaspeed\u2019s office in the heart of the Singapore business district, no staff could be seen behind its locked glass doors. Neighbours told AFP they had not seen anyone come or go for the past few months.<\/p>\n
Likewise in a mall at a newly developed neighbourhood in Johor, the Malaysian region a bridge away from Singapore, no employees were around in subsidiary Speedmatrix\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
Singapore police opened an investigation in February 2025 into Megaspeed and several other companies suspected of circumventing or violating export controls.<\/p>\n
Alice Huang was interviewed as part of Singapore\u2019s probe.<\/p>\n
Although no charges were laid, she was barred from the city-state in February 2026 for providing inaccurate information to \u201cdownplay her role in Megaspeed\u201d, Singapore\u2019s home ministry said.<\/p>\n
Explosive growth<\/p>\n
Megaspeed’s revenue rose from $0 to almost US$300m in 12 months. Photo \/ Taryn Ng, AFP<\/p>\n
Corporate records show Huang\u2019s direct involvement in the birth of Megaspeed.<\/p>\n
A company linked to her acquired the Singapore arm of Chinese video game developer 7Road International in early 2023, the records showed.<\/p>\n
Almost immediately, the 7Road name was ditched and changed to Megaspeed International.<\/p>\n
Huang was listed as a Megaspeed director for less than a year, taking the role between March and November 2023.<\/p>\n
Her arrival coincided with a drastic change in fortunes, as Megaspeed pivoted from a little-known video game maker to one of Asia\u2019s biggest buyers of Nvidia chips.<\/p>\n
Within 12 months, Megaspeed\u2019s revenue jumped from $0 to almost US$300 million, according to company accounts filed in 2024.<\/p>\n
Megaspeed \u2013 which described itself as a \u201ccloud hosting services provider\u201d \u2013 saw the value of its assets skyrocket from US$32m to almost US$3b over the same period.<\/p>\n
Co-founder, President and CEO of US technology company Nvidia, Jensen Huang.<\/p>\n
Just one of Nvidia\u2019s advanced AI computer chips can cost tens of thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n
Over two years, Megaspeed reportedly traded in upwards of US$4b worth of Nvidia chips.<\/p>\n
A financial trail weaving through Singapore, Malaysia and the Cayman Islands suggests Megaspeed\u2019s business may have been boosted by a connection to Chinese tech giant Alibaba.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Apex is linked through a parent company to Alibaba Group Holding, a firm registered in the Cayman Islands, Singapore corporate data shows.<\/p>\n
By that time, Huang was no longer registered as a director at Megaspeed.<\/p>\n
But Singapore authorities said she remained one of Megaspeed\u2019s \u201ckey controllers\u201d.<\/p>\n
Megaspeed\u2019s ultimate holding company is a Singapore firm called Swiftdata.<\/p>\n
Singapore businessman Tan Yong Pong \u2013 who has previously run printing and graphic design companies \u2013 is a director of both Megaspeed and Swiftdata.<\/p>\n
No one answered when AFP visited Tan\u2019s registered address in eastern Singapore, although dogs could be heard barking behind the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are friendly. I occasionally bump into the lady at the lift landing when she\u2019s walking her dog,\u201d an elderly neighbour told AFP. \u201cBut we have not seen them for months.\u201d<\/p>\n
Awkward questions<\/p>\n
In June 2025, US investigators turned up at Megaspeed to carry out a \u201cpost-shipment verification\u201d, with Huang present, according to Singapore\u2019s home ministry, adding that it was the first time it found out about Washington\u2019s probe.<\/p>\n
That same day, Huang was interviewed by Singapore police who impounded her passport.<\/p>\n
By then, she and Nvidia boss Jensen Huang had already been spotted together in public.<\/p>\n
In one of their early outings together, they were seen mingling at an afterparty following the Computex trade show in Taiwan at the beginning of 2024.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I don\u2019t think so. I think \u2013 you know, he\u2019s an honourable guy,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n
But the scandal has sparked national security fears.<\/p>\n
China and the United States are fighting for supremacy in artificial intelligence, and Nvidia\u2019s market-leading products have become a major point of contention.<\/p>\n
Nvidia controls an estimated 90% of the market for the chips used to train and run AI models, and the US imposed rules in 2022 to restrict their sales to China.<\/p>\n