GoKawiilNvidia contact led Commerce Dept. to drop Megaspeed chip-smuggling probe
The New York Times reports that Commerce Department investigators spent months probing Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data center firm suspected of smuggling Nvidia AI chips into China, before the case was abruptly handed to the Justice Department. The transfer followed an email from Nvidia general counsel Tim Teter asking about the investigation, which he said he sent with permission from Commerce official Jeff Kessler. Investigators were reportedly alarmed that Nvidia invoked Kessler's name, and some viewed the contact as a breach of procedure.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The episode suggests a chipmaker may have gained visibility into, and possibly influenced the fate of, a federal probe into its own products' diversion to a restricted market, which could raise conflict-of-interest concerns about Commerce officials' ties to Nvidia. It also comes amid separate scrutiny of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's acknowledged relationship with a Megaspeed executive, which the Times suggests has sharpened questions about Nvidia's influence over U.S. chip-export policy toward China.
- Commerce Department's Megaspeed smuggling probe was transferred to the Justice Department after Nvidia's general counsel emailed investigators.
- Nvidia said it had been given permission by top Commerce official Jeff Kessler to make the inquiry, alarming investigators who saw it as improper.
- Scrutiny has intensified following revelations of Jensen Huang's acknowledged affair with a Megaspeed executive believed by officials to be a Chinese spy.
Source: tech.slashdot.org, 2026-11-09
Published there as: “Commerce Dept. Chip Inquiry Was Halted After Nvidia Intervention”
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