Nvidia scandal tests Singapore’s balancing act

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Hello reader,

If Helen launched a thousand ships, Alice Huang and Jensen Huang (no relation, thankfully) have launched a thousand memes and billions of value out of Nvidia.

Alice is reportedly the apple of the Nvidia founder and CEO’s eye, and worse, she is alleged to be spying for the Chinese government, according to US media reports. She is also said to be a top executive at Singapore-based neocloud firm Megaspeed.

US investigators have reportedly probed whether Megaspeed diverted Nvidia chips to China, which the company denies. Nvidia’s own review said it found no evidence of such a diversion happening.

Our sister publication, The Straits Times, visited the Megaspeed office in October and found it to be deserted. Other tenants who worked near the office said it was frequently empty.

Jensen has admitted being unfaithful to his wife, and Nvidia is now investigating the tech magnate for reports that he is “the target of a foreign intelligence effort.” Investors are not happy about the situation. As of the end of the trading day on November 9, Nvidia’s value dropped by around US$200 billion.

As a result, this scandal puts a spotlight once more on Singapore’s awkward position between the US and China in the AI race.

“Singapore-washing,” which the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy describes as Chinese companies relocating to Singapore to bypass US sanctions and access technology otherwise restricted to them, remains a challenge for the city-state.

Megaspeed has not been found to violate any US chip restrictions that prohibit any Chinese ownership of advanced AI chips manufactured in the US, including Nvidia’s. However, it is the largest client of Nvidia in Southeast Asia, according to a Bloomberg report. Megaspeed’s clients also include Alibaba, raising questions as to whether the Singapore-based firm provided access to Nvidia-run servers to the Chinese giant.

Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs clarified in a statement that investigations into Megaspeed are ongoing. It has, after all, a history of going after local firms found to be violating US chip restrictions within the country.

This latest episode shows that the city-state has work to do when it comes to ensuring the AI business within its borders can keep all of its international partners satisfied. After all, neutrality is a great brand until someone else’s chips start turning up where they shouldn’t.

Elyssa Lopez, journalist

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