Senators Demand Trump Team Preserve Nvidia Records in Megaspeed Chip Probe

Two Democratic senators have demanded that the Trump administration preserve its records on Nvidia’s exports of advanced artificial intelligence chips to China, escalating congressional scrutiny of an alleged intelligence operation centred on the chipmaker and a Singapore company called Megaspeed.

Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Chris Coons of Delaware sent the letter on Wednesday 11 November to Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio, White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. They asked for written confirmation by 17 November that preservation directives have been issued, and requested a congressional briefing on the potential national security risks.

The request is not a subpoena and makes no finding of wrongdoing. It is a demand that the paper trail be kept intact while Congress examines what senior officials knew, and when.

What the senators asked for

Warren and Coons called for the preservation of documents, communications and other records relating to Nvidia’s exports of advanced AI chips to China and the potential national security risks involved.

They specifically asked for communications between Nvidia executives and senior Trump administration officials, records relating to investigations into the potential smuggling of advanced AI chips, and records of decisions to weaken or suspend export controls on advanced AI technology.

“This incident raises significant concerns about the federal government’s ability to effectively enforce our export controls and protect our national security,” the senators wrote.

They also asked whether “prudent defensive counter-intelligence action was taken or national security recommendations were overruled” — a question that goes to the heart of the inquiry: not only what happened, but whether warnings were ignored.

The $4.8bn question

At the centre of the affair is Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company that the senators noted has reportedly purchased more than $4.8 billion in advanced Nvidia AI chips since June 2024.

The company is under investigation by the Department of Justice for allegedly diverting advanced AI chips to China in violation of United States export controls. The senators also pointed to reporting that a separate Commerce Department investigation involving Megaspeed was altered after communications with Nvidia representatives.

The scrutiny follows reports linking Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang to Alice Huang, a Megaspeed executive described in reports as an alleged Chinese intelligence asset. Huang has acknowledged that he was unfaithful to his wife in a relationship involving a woman described in reports as a suspected Chinese intelligence operative.

No charges have been announced against either Huang. Nvidia has said its board has no reason to believe national security or company secrets were compromised, and Megaspeed has denied wrongdoing and said it would cooperate with United States authorities. China’s foreign ministry has called the espionage account baseless.

The affair has already cost Huang his job. Jensen Huang resigned as chief executive after 33 years, with the board accepting his resignation on Wednesday and announcing it on Thursday. Colette Kress, the company’s long-serving finance chief, has been named interim chief executive. The board opened an independent investigation into the affair on Sunday 8 November, and a shareholder lawsuit followed on Monday.

What officials are said to have known

The senators’ letter follows reporting that senior Trump administration officials were aware of intelligence suggesting Huang had a relationship with a suspected Chinese intelligence operative, raising questions about whether appropriate national security precautions were taken.

“Reports suggest that officials within the government — including at the White House, State Department, and Commerce Department — were aware of concerns about NVIDIA, its relationship with Megaspeed, and the suspected Chinese intelligence operation, yet did not move to block the continued flow of advanced AI chips to Megaspeed or other companies affiliated with the suspected operative,” they wrote.

Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee have separately alleged that President Donald Trump dismissed a warning about Huang’s reported ties. In a post on X, the committee Democrats alleged that Rubio warned Trump about the relationship, “but Trump brushed it off”, and that Rubio and Lutnick have continued to approve licences for H200 chips to China.

Warren had already called on Nvidia’s board and Huang to answer to Congress. In Warren’s statement on 29 October, she said the company owed Congress answers and called for bipartisan legislation to stop advanced American technology from reaching China.

A second letter, and a legislative push

Senator Michael Bennet sent a separate letter on 11 November to the Commerce and Justice departments, the State Department and the director of national intelligence, requesting an update on the Megaspeed investigation, possible restrictions and anti-diversion measures. He asked for written answers by 24 November.

Meanwhile, Warren and Republican Senator Jim Banks are pushing a chip-export measure, the AI OVERWATCH Act, into the National Defense Authorization Act, the must-pass defence bill. The measure has 56 co-sponsors across its Senate and House versions and would order the Commerce Department to write more restrictive licensing rules for exporting advanced circuits.

Two further bills are in play: the MATCH Act, which would tighten international export controls on chipmaking equipment, and the Chip Security Act, which would require advanced chips to verify their location and trigger government notification if they are diverted or tampered with.

What happens next

The immediate deadline is 17 November, when Warren and Coons have asked the three recipients to confirm in writing that preservation directives have been issued. Bennet’s deadline for answers follows a week later, on 24 November.

Nvidia is due to report earnings on Tuesday 17 November, the same day the preservation confirmation is due — a coincidence that will put the company’s finances and its governance under the spotlight at once.

For now, the senators’ move changes the shape of the Nvidia affair. What began as a boardroom scandal over a chief executive’s private life has become a question about the government’s own paper trail: who knew what, what was decided, and whether the records will still be there when Congress comes looking.

FAQ

What did Warren and Coons ask the Trump administration to do?

They asked the White House, State Department and Commerce Department to preserve documents, communications and other records relating to Nvidia’s exports of advanced AI chips to China, and to confirm in writing by 17 November that preservation directives have been issued.

What is Megaspeed?

Megaspeed is a Singapore-based company that has reportedly bought more than $4.8 billion in advanced Nvidia AI chips since June 2024. It is under investigation by the Department of Justice for allegedly diverting advanced AI chips to China in violation of US export controls. Megaspeed denies wrongdoing.

Has anyone been charged?

No. No charges have been announced against Jensen Huang, Alice Huang or Megaspeed. Nvidia says its board has no reason to believe national security or company secrets were compromised, and the senators’ letter is a preservation request, not a subpoena or a finding of wrongdoing.