Business

Megaspeed says Alice Huang left in 2025 as company conducts internal probe over Nvidia fallout

NVIDIA ALICE HUANG Foto tomada de video de TVBS que muestra a Alice Huang en una cena organizada por Jensen Huang, CEO de Nvidia, en un restaurante en Taipéi, Taiwán, el 22 de mayo del 2025. (TVBS via AP) (TVBS via AP)

Singapore-based cloud computing company Megaspeed International said Sunday that Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang, whose relationship with former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang sparked U.S. national security concerns, left the company last year.

Megaspeed, which is under scrutiny over alleged transfers of advanced Nvidia chips to Chinese companies, also announced an internal investigation led by outside lawyers.

The company told The Associated Press that it runs a “legitimate and lawful business” and was aware of media reports containing claims about its business, supply chain and global operations “that are not supported by verifiable evidence.” It did not address specific allegations.

“The company has retained external legal counsel to conduct a thorough internal investigation,” it said in an emailed statement.

Alice Huang “left Megaspeed effective Aug. 30, 2025, and currently has no role with the company,” the statement said. “Megaspeed does not comment on Ms. Huang’s personal and private matters.”

A customer and cloud partner of Nvidia, Megaspeed has faced scrutiny in recent months, including from U.S. authorities, over allegations that it circumvented U.S. export restrictions to route large quantities of advanced chips to Chinese companies. Last December, it said there was "no evidence" of illicit chip transfers.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that “it doesn't matter to me” whether Alice Huang is a spy. He said his concern is “whether Nvidia had a culture of compliance around the U.S. export restrictions” or not.

“Jensen’s foibles are his foibles. Obviously, it’s a problem if in fact he was having relationships with subordinates,” Bessent said in an appearance on Fox News Channel's “Sunday Morning Futures.” “I want to keep coming back to: ‘What was the culture at Nvidia, and were they pressing these seemingly illicit sales to goose their revenues and their earnings?’”

Bessent said the Nvidia board of directors should look outside the company for a new CEO because “they need a dramatic shake-up.”

Singapore’s government said Thursday that it initiated an investigation into Megaspeed in February 2025, including possible “false declarations in relation to the purchase of servers.”

Authorities also investigated Alice Huang, whom the government identified as Megaspeed’s then-CEO, chairperson and one of its key controllers.

Singapore authorities questioned her and withheld her passport last year. They later concluded there was insufficient evidence that she had committed a crime, despite suspecting she had provided “inaccurate” information to downplay her role at the company.

An earlier New York Times report suggested U.S. officials believed Alice Huang was a Chinese spy recruited to potentially influence Nvidia to make its advanced chips more available to China.

As scrutiny intensified and reports of her romantic relationship with Jensen Huang gained attention, Nvidia announced Thursday that he was stepping down as CEO.

U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said Thursday, however, that the Justice Department had not concluded whether Alice Huang was a Chinese spy. Asked whether she was a spy, President Donald Trump said: “I don’t know if that’s been determined yet.”

Beijing rejected the allegations as unsubstantiated.

The Associated Press has been unable to reach Alice Huang for comment.

Megaspeed began as the overseas arm of a Chinese video game developer and was incorporated in Singapore in 2015 as 7Road International. It adopted its current name in March 2023, when all its shares were transferred to Huang Le Limited, a British Virgin Islands company. Alice Huang is also known by her Chinese name, Huang Le.

By November 2023, she was no longer listed as a Megaspeed director, and all her shares had been transferred to an entity owned by Singaporean businessman Tan Yong Pong, also known as James Tan.

Despite those public records, short seller Culper Research cited a Megaspeed employee in a report released this May as saying Alice Huang was “actually still our boss” and remained involved in daily operations.

The company’s finances have also attracted attention. Singapore corporate records show its total assets rose roughly 90-fold from end-2023 to 2024, reaching almost $3 billion.

In a separate statement Thursday issued under James Tan’s name, Megaspeed said it takes its obligations under U.S. export control laws “extremely seriously.”

The company said it had cooperated with inspections by the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security and was ready to cooperate fully with other relevant U.S. authorities.

0