Nvidia-Megaspeed saga could squeeze Singapore's room in chips space, slow things for firms: Analysts

Detailed summary

An extramarital affair has renewed global scrutiny on chip giant Nvidia and its Singapore-based client Megaspeed, which is suspected of helping China gain access to advanced…

An extramarital affair has renewed global scrutiny on chip giant Nvidia and its Singapore-based client Megaspeed, which is suspected of helping China gain access to advanced semiconductors from the US.

SINGAPORE: The ongoing chips saga involving Nvidia and Megaspeed could soon make things trickier for Singapore in the semiconductor space, observers told CNA.

Mr Matthias Hendrichs, a Singapore-based adviser to AI companies, noted that Singapore has deep ties with both the US and China, and authorities in Singapore have said companies have to manage the risk of foreign rules that apply to them.

“The tricky part is that Washington increasingly wants to know who's using the chips, even when they're sitting in a data centre outside China,” he said on Thursday (Nov 12).

“Singapore can keep doing business with both sides, but on this particular technology it’ll have less room to manoeuvre.”

The experts' comments come as controversy continues to swirl around Nvidia, days after the chip giant first launched a probe into whether former chief executive Jensen Huang was targeted in a foreign intelligence operation.

The New York Times had earlier reported that Mr Huang had an extramarital relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive of Singapore-based tech firm Megaspeed. US authorities’ investigations into Ms Huang previously concluded she was acting as a Chinese intelligence asset.

Megaspeed was suspected of helping Beijing to gain access to advanced semiconductors from the US, which are barred from being shipped to China.

Associate Professor Chong Ja Ian, of the National University of Singapore's political science department, noted that the Nvidia-Megaspeed case is not the only one relating to Singapore.

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