Nvidia lawyer pressed US on Megaspeed probe as chip case widened
What's new: BIS staff were later told to route Nvidia contacts through a top Commerce official and avoid naming Megaspeed in outside messages.
Nvidia's general counsel intervened with a senior US Commerce official during a federal probe into suspected AI-chip smuggling tied to Singapore-based Megaspeed International, according to people familiar with the matter cited by The Business Times. The report said Tim Teter called Commerce Under Secretary Jeffrey Kessler in late summer 2025 to ask whether the Bureau of Industry and Security had a role in the detention of Megaspeed executive Alice Huang in Singapore. BIS was not involved, the report said. In the following weeks, BIS staff were instructed to channel requests involving Nvidia through Kessler or get his approval, an unusual restriction that also barred mention of Megaspeed or Malaysian subsidiary Speedmatrix in external communications.