240,000 Nvidia chips allegedly reached China through Singapore-linked network

Roughly 240,000 restricted Nvidia AI chips — H100, H200 and some A100 processors — allegedly reached China through a China-linked business network, according to a report by The Information. Some of the processors ended up at Alibaba, Tencent and smaller Chinese AI labs, and the disclosures have wiped about $430 billion off Nvidia's market value in two trading sessions, with shares down 9.5 percent since the story broke.

The operation was allegedly facilitated by Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, a Chinese businesswoman accused of links to Beijing's intelligence network. Her reported relationship with Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has raised national security concerns in Washington.

How did the chips move?

Huang Le and her husband and sister built a web of companies across China and Singapore to acquire Nvidia processors, The Information reported. When orders for restricted chips stalled, she allegedly leveraged her connections inside Nvidia to secure supply.

She later became controlling shareholder of Megaspeed International, a Singapore-based cloud computing company linked to Century Litong, a China-based business that gained preferred cloud partner status with Nvidia in 2023 — status that granted priority access to its chips.

The alleged pipeline exposes a structural weakness in US export controls: limiting direct sales may count for little if intermediaries and cross-border cloud arrangements can still deliver restricted processors to Chinese buyers. Nvidia's partner-screening procedures now face direct questions about whether its safeguards can stop technology reaching prohibited customers.

What is Washington doing?

The Financial Times reported that several US government agencies pushed to place Megaspeed on the Entity List, Washington's trade blacklist for national security risks. The Commerce Department delayed blacklisting companies under consideration while it sought additional information. It remains unclear whether Megaspeed was among the delayed cases.

The controversy has reached the White House. Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed President Donald Trump in May on intelligence suggesting Jensen Huang was involved with a woman believed to be a Chinese spy, according to reports. Trump said Huang told him he had no knowledge the woman was allegedly a spy, and that he believed him. A White House official disputed the reported account of the briefing.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has demanded a full account of Trump's handling of the intelligence and urged Congress to tighten restrictions on advanced chip exports to China. China's foreign ministry dismissed the spy allegations as groundless.

Is Jensen Huang's position at risk?

Republican Senator Kevin Cramer, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, has called for Huang's resignation. He told Politico the possibility that Huang could be vulnerable to extortion was significant enough that he should leave the post.

The FBI is separately examining whether the 63-year-old executive was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. Nvidia's independent directors have retained Joon Kim, a partner at Wachtell Lipton and former acting US attorney for the Southern District of New York, to lead an external investigation. The company said its board had no reason to believe US national security or corporate secrets had been compromised, and Huang has committed to cooperating.

Huang acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife during a closed-door meeting with senior executives on Monday, apologising before returning to business. He has not publicly detailed the alleged relationship.

What happens next?

The investigation must establish two things: whether corporate resources or national security information were compromised, and whether Nvidia's commercial and distribution relationships provided channels for restricted technology to reach Chinese customers.

The outcome could reshape how US authorities supervise AI chip exports, cloud partnerships and third-party distributors — potentially raising compliance costs and regulatory scrutiny across the global semiconductor supply chain.