Four U.S. agencies wanted Nvidia customer Megaspeed blacklisted. Commerce hasn't done it

Four agencies, one holdout. The Financial Times (opens in a new tab) reported on Nov. 10 that the State, Defense, Energy and Treasury departments pushed to add Megaspeed to the list. Over the past two months, it said, Commerce has tried to slow new additions, telling other agencies it needed more information on some companies. The FT said it's unclear whether Megaspeed is one of them (summary via Chosun Biz (opens in a new tab)). Per CNN, Commerce hasn't added any company to the list in more than a year.

Why the list matters. U.S. companies need a Commerce license to export to anyone on the Entity List. It's one of Washington's main tools for keeping advanced chips away from China.

What Megaspeed is. U.S. officials have spent more than a year investigating whether Megaspeed moved Nvidia's advanced AI chips into China. Alice Huang, the former Megaspeed executive Jensen Huang reportedly had an affair with, is suspected by U.S. intelligence of working for China. CNN cites analyst estimates that Megaspeed has bought more than $4 billion of Nvidia chips. Megaspeed denies wrongdoing and calls itself a "compliant and legal company." China's foreign ministry calls the spy allegations "groundless speculation."

Nvidia's side. An Nvidia spokesperson told the FT the company put Megaspeed on its internal block list in June 2025 and stopped further sales and shipments, even though Megaspeed isn't on the government list.

One outlet only. Axios also reports, citing six sources, that President Trump approved action against suspected diversions of Nvidia chips to China three times this year, in May, August and on Nov. 5, and that Lutnick held it up each time. Commerce did not immediately comment on those claims. No other outlet we checked has confirmed that part yet, so treat it as Axios's reporting.

The stock. $NVDA closed Wednesday at $173.73, up 2.9%, per Nasdaq and Yahoo Finance. Just before 2 p.m. PT, after the close, The New York Times (opens in a new tab) reported that Huang also had a relationship with an Nvidia executive who reports to him. As of this writing, only the Times has reported it, and we haven't confirmed it independently. By 5:05 p.m. ET, shares were about 3% lower in after-hours trading, at about $168.51, per Nasdaq. After-hours prices are thin and can swing.

The deadline. Wednesday is the last day three House Republican chairs gave Huang to accept a closed-door briefing on Nov. 18 or offer another date, per their Nov. 5 letter (opens in a new tab). China committee chair John Moolenaar said Huang has until the end of the day, and that subpoenas are likely if he doesn't respond (Bloomberg (opens in a new tab), TechCrunch (opens in a new tab)). As of 2 p.m. PT, we found no public reply from Huang or Nvidia, and no subpoena. Nvidia reports earnings on Nov. 17 (background).

Our take. The story is shifting from Huang's private life to a policy question: why the government hasn't acted on the company at the center of it. A decision on Megaspeed is a concrete action to watch, separate from whatever happens to Huang.

Disclosure: Not investment advice. Not sponsored. No affiliate links.

MODEL Editors