• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confronted Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over the failure to blacklist Megaspeed, an Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) customer accused of diverting US chips to China, according to Axios; Lutnick replied: "I don't know. I'll look into it."
  • Sources allege Lutnick resisted action despite intelligence warnings, fearing an escalation of the US-China trade war, deepening scrutiny of Nvidia's China ties and the administration's handling of chip export restrictions.
  • The US Commerce Department has postponed adding Singapore-based AI-cloud company Megaspeed to its Entity List, according to the Financial Times, while Megaspeed faces ongoing investigations in Singapore and its rapid financial growth and Nvidia partnerships draw scrutiny.

A Reprieve, Not a Resolution

The US Commerce Department has delayed the inclusion of Megaspeed International on its trade blacklist, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The decision, which would have subjected the Singapore-based AI-cloud provider to stricter export licensing requirements, has been deferred amid broader US-China trade negotiations, according to a separate Wall Street Journal report. Officials reportedly pushed decisions on Megaspeed and several dozen other companies to senior officials involved in the talks.

The postponement is not an exoneration. As of November 10, 2026, Megaspeed remains under scrutiny on multiple fronts. A November 9 report said Commerce paused its investigation after Nvidia contacted investigators, and the Justice Department subsequently took over a criminal inquiry. The reporting does not establish that Nvidia improperly influenced the decision. Commerce says it followed its procedures; Nvidia says its contacts were intended to provide information and seek guidance. Meanwhile, Singapore's Home Affairs Ministry confirmed on November 10 that its investigations into Megaspeed are continuing, while denying that it had investigated former executive Alice Huang for alleged Chinese-intelligence links.

Megaspeed, which provides access to Nvidia-powered computing infrastructure in Southeast Asia, has denied illicit chip transfers and says inspections found no violations. Nvidia has defended its checks. Those statements stand alongside authorities' confirmation that investigations continue.

Internal Dispute Over Blacklist Delay

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confronted Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over his failure to blacklist Megaspeed, an Nvidia customer accused of diverting US chips to China, according to Axios. Lutnick replied: "I don't know. I'll look into it." Sources allege Lutnick resisted action despite intelligence warnings, fearing an escalation of the US-China trade war. The confrontation deepens scrutiny of Nvidia's China ties and the administration's handling of chip export restrictions.

The confrontation follows Financial Times reporting, summarized by Reuters (NASDAQ:TRI) on November 10, that multiple agencies sought Megaspeed's inclusion on the US Entity List while Commerce delayed action. Commerce reportedly requested more information about some proposed listings, although it was unclear whether that request specifically concerned Megaspeed. Axios separately reported that Lutnick received a classified warning concerning Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's relationship with Alice Huang, a businesswoman connected to Megaspeed and alleged to have Chinese intelligence ties; Reuters said it could not independently verify that report.

Financial Trajectory Draws Attention

The delay comes as Megaspeed's financials show explosive growth. According to business filings reviewed by Reuters, revenue jumped from zero in 2023 to $294 million in 2024, while total assets ballooned from $33 million to $3 billion. The company posted after-tax losses of $21,283 and $20 million in those years, respectively. These historical figures underscore the scale of its operations but also highlight its lack of profitability.

Megaspeed, incorporated in 2015 as 7Road International and renamed in March 2023, is wholly owned by Singapore-registered Swiftdata. Reuters identifies Tan Yong Peng as a director of both companies and Ng Wei Shi Khloe as company secretary. Alice Huang, whose Chinese name is Huang Le, ended an eight-month tenure as managing director in November 2023.

The company's business sits at the intersection of US export controls and Chinese demand for advanced AI computing. Southeast Asian cloud providers can host Nvidia hardware and rent capacity to customers elsewhere, making the location of equipment, ownership, end users, and ultimate destination separate compliance questions. Nvidia's billing-address revenue figures should not be treated as evidence of where chips physically went; reporting notes that Singapore-billed sales and actual shipments to Singapore differ substantially.

Political and Regulatory Headwinds

The Entity List is an export-control mechanism, not simply a label for wrongdoing. Listing generally subjects covered technology transactions to additional US licensing requirements, with severity depending on the applicable restrictions. The reported delay places two policy objectives in tension: restricting access to sensitive technology for national security and preserving flexibility in US-China trade negotiations.

Senator John Cornyn has called for congressional oversight, while other Republican lawmakers sought a briefing from Nvidia's CEO. The scrutiny extends to Nvidia's due diligence and communications with investigators. Nvidia's board has expressed confidence in CEO Jensen Huang's leadership and said it had no reason to believe company secrets or national security had been compromised, following reports about his relationship with former Megaspeed executive Alice Huang.

Singapore's position differs from Washington's. Its government says it does not enforce other countries' unilateral export controls but will act against fraud, dishonesty, and violations of Singaporean law. Consequently, a Singapore investigation and a US export-control investigation need not have identical legal grounds or outcomes. The case tests Singapore's role as an international technology hub, with Reuters describing a broader trend of Chinese companies domiciling there to reduce exposure to US-China tensions.

What to Watch

There is no substantiated timetable for a Megaspeed listing decision or the completion of investigations. The central issue is whether the reported delay becomes a lasting policy accommodation or merely postpones restrictions while criminal investigators and senior trade officials make separate decisions. For now, the evidence supports neither a clean bill of health nor an inevitable blacklisting. Market participants will monitor for any shift in the Entity List process, Nvidia's compliance posture, and Singapore's enforcement actions.