$7.5 Billion of Nvidia Chips: Inside Megaspeed's Singapore-Malaysia Route to China

At least $7.5 billion worth of Nvidia chips moved through Megaspeed and its Malaysian subsidiary Speedmatrix, according to The Information — and much of that silicon ended up powering Chinese data centers. The case has placed a Singapore-based cloud computing provider at the center of the chip-smuggling controversy around Nvidia. It also exposes how Chinese firms use Southeast Asia to skirt U.S. trade controls.

Megaspeed is suspected, according to several media reports, of funneling advanced AI processors to Chinese companies. Details of what the firm allegedly did remain murky. But experts say the mechanism is straightforward: Southeast Asia offers both a legal path and an illegal one.

"Chinese firms can access data centers in Singapore and Malaysia—and their computing capacity—without having to import restricted semiconductors," Ja Ian Chong, a political science expert at the National University of Singapore, told Fortune. "But the ease of shipping [chips] through Singapore and Malaysia also makes them attractive for firms and people who wish to circumvent U.S. controls."

What is Megaspeed?

Megaspeed is a Singapore-based "neocloud" that sells AI computing power. It was incorporated in 2015 as 7Road International, a Chinese gaming firm with ties to state-backed investors. It changed its name to Megaspeed in early 2023 — the same year Alice Huang joined the company.

Huang is the pivotal figure. According to The Information, she used her personal relationship with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to move at least $7.5 billion worth of Nvidia chips through Megaspeed and Speedmatrix.

In November 2023, another Singapore-registered firm, Swiftdata, acquired Megaspeed. Alice Huang stepped down as managing director. Singaporean businessman Tan Yong Pong, who owns Swiftdata, became sole director. Tan also owns Monster Investment, another Singapore-registered company.

In 2024, Tan established Speedmatrix, Megaspeed's Malaysia-based subsidiary. The unit reportedly received the chip shipments. According to the New York Times, Speedmatrix received over 200 shipments of restricted Nvidia technology between June 2024 and June 2025.

The chips were eventually used to power data centers built by Shanghai Century Litong, a Chinese firm in which Alice Huang's younger sister, Huang Yu, is a founding shareholder, according to The Information. That firm builds data centers in Shanghai and Shenzhen, then sells high-performance AI computing capacity to Chinese tech giants including Alibaba and Tencent.

How did the two-country route work?

Companies like Megaspeed typically offer two routes to restricted silicon:

• Renting chips already housed in data centers in Singapore and Malaysia. Under current rules, this is legal.
• Buying chips through front companies and shipping them to China — potentially violating U.S. export controls.

Megaspeed reportedly did both. It built data center operations in Sedenak Tech Park in the Malaysian state of Johor. It also, according to the reports, shuttled chips to Shanghai Century Litong's facilities in China.

Washington restricts exports of Nvidia's top-end Blackwell and Rubin chips to China, fearing Beijing could use them to supercharge its AI ambitions.

What do the investigations cover?

Singapore says it is investigating Megaspeed for "suspected breaches of our domestic laws." It separately rejected reports that its authorities were investigating Alice Huang over espionage allegations. U.S. officials have also investigated Megaspeed for potential export-control violations.

Megaspeed has denied wrongdoing. "There has been no evidence of any violations concerning the illicit transfer of chips or any illegal activities, and this demonstrates that we are a compliant and legitimate company," the firm wrote in a statement last December. "We operate fully within the bounds of all applicable export control regulations and maintain the highest standards of legal and ethical conduct."

Nvidia has previously claimed it found no evidence of illicit chip transfers. In a Nov. 8 statement, Nvidia's board said it was launching an independent investigation into whether Jensen Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort. It added it had no reason to believe "either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised." The board said it "prioritizes U.S. national and economic security, which is paramount to the interests of NVIDIA and its shareholders."

The Wall Street Journal reports that Nvidia's board is now considering removing Huang as CEO, following reports he conducted a second affair, this time with an Nvidia executive.

Why Singapore and Malaysia?

Malaysia has drawn $94 billion in data center investments between 2021 and mid-2026, including from Google, AWS and Microsoft. "Malaysia has ample land and relatively cheap electricity and water, at least for now," Chong notes. "The fact that it sits next to key submarine cables also makes it attractive as a spot for data centers."

Singapore offers an open economy, stable politics and business-friendly policies. AI firms including Anthropic and OpenAI have placed their APAC headquarters there.

Is the loophole closing?

Not yet — but pressure is building. On Nov. 3, the Financial Times reported Oracle canceled a $7 billion deal to grant Tencent access to 100,000 AI chips in Southeast Asian data centers after U.S. officials raised concerns. The FT also reported Nvidia is telling cloud clients they must sell at least 51% of their services to non-Chinese companies.

The U.S. House has passed the Remote Access Security Act, which would close the loophole letting Chinese companies use AI processors housed in other countries. The bill now sits in the Senate.

Enforcement is tightening on the ground. Singapore charged three individuals with fraud last year after they diverted AI servers bound for Singapore to Malaysia instead. In October, Malaysian customs seized $12.1 million worth of advanced AI chips at Kuala Lumpur International Airport — 30 servers falsely declared as electronic components, transferred from one unnamed Asian country to another.

"AI chip distributors and resellers often spend too little effort vetting customers, usually relying on paperwork the customer provides," notes Erich Grunewald, a senior researcher at the Institute for AI Policy and Strategy, a U.S. nonpartisan think tank.

Chong argues the U.S.-China AI arms race guarantees deeper scrutiny of third parties. "Both Singapore and Malaysia will want to continue to benefit from trust by Beijing and Washington for as long as they can," he concludes. "But they may face greater suspicion, scrutiny, restrictions and even punishment from one or both major powers going forward, and perceptions that they are unreliable or duplicitous partners will only increase such pressure."