United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has demanded Nvidia explain within ten days whether it allowed prohibited advanced AI chips to reach China through Southeast Asian intermediaries. Federal investigators suspect Singapore-based Megaspeed purchased chips for regional facilities and diverted them to the Chinese market, bypassing strict limits that prohibit sales beyond the H200 model authorized by President Donald Trump. While Nvidia denied the allegations after conducting an internal review, former chief executive Jensen Huang recently resigned and agreed to testify before three House committees.
Key points
The Justice Department is conducting an active criminal probe into Nvidia's compliance wi…: The Justice Department is conducting an active criminal probe into Nvidia's compliance with federal export control laws.
Four federal agencies advocated to blacklist Megaspeed, but Commerce Secretary Howard Lut…: Four federal agencies advocated to blacklist Megaspeed, but Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's department declined to take action.
House lawmakers plan to question Nvidia officials regarding foreign influence and access…: House lawmakers plan to question Nvidia officials regarding foreign influence and access to privileged corporate information.
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Nvidia faces fresh scrutiny over claims that its most advanced AI chips reached China via Southeast Asia, with a Justice Department criminal probe underway.
WASHINGTON: United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called on Nvidia on Sunday (Nov 15) to explain whether it knowingly allowed its most advanced artificial intelligence chips to reach China, saying this was more important than ex-CEO Jensen Huang's affair with an alleged spy for Beijing.
Speaking on "Fox News Sunday Morning Futures" three days after Huang resigned, Bessent said he wants to know if Nvidia used shell companies to dodge US restrictions and sell its most powerful chips to China.
The US forbids sales to China of the most cutting-edge AI chips, hoping to stay ahead of the Chinese in the race to dominate AI.
In late 2025, President Donald Trump did authorise sales of Nvidia chips called H200s to the Chinese - but not the most advanced chips used to run AI models reshaping modern society.
"Nothing above the H200s can be sold to the Chinese," Bessent said.
The assessment reveals that one of China's premier artificial intelligence installations faces a massive capability deficit compared to top-tier Western infrastructure. Independent evaluations indicate that closing this technology gap will take considerable time, impacting expectations for parity in the near term. This computing limitation highlights the ongoing hurdles facing domestic hardware scaling efforts across the region.
The sudden exit of Nvidia's leader follows intense scrutiny over personal relationships, including one involving a customer executive with alleged links to Chinese intelligence. Because the tech giant underpins much of the modern artificial intelligence boom, the unexpected vacuum at the top poses operational risks across the broader sector. The company must now navigate this volatility without a formal succession plan ready.
Managing a weekly figure-drawing session at a Manhattan coffee shop prompted an organizer to create Posebook, an open-source platform handling registrations, schedules, and automated emails. Built using AI-assisted coding tools, the application grew significantly beyond its initial administrative scope. The project now serves as a cautionary example of how easily solo creators can overengineer custom software for modest community gatherings when simpler commercial alternatives already exist.