Short Seller Culper Flagged Huang's Ties to Megaspeed Executive Months Before Nvidia Probe

The firm published a 40-page report on May 13, 2026, titled "NVIDIA (NVDA): The China Problem", and said the same day that it was short Nvidia's stock. The report centred on Megaspeed, a Singapore-based buyer of Nvidia chips, and on Alice Huang, a Megaspeed executive. She shares the Nvidia chief's surname but is not related to him. US intelligence officials now suspect she was recruited by the Chinese government to gather information on Huang and to shape his views on US export controls for advanced AI chips, according to TechCrunch.

The report matters now because its two central claims, a close personal tie and a possible route for restricted chips into China, are the two strands investors, lawmakers and Nvidia's directors are trying to untangle. Culper described the relationship between the two executives as "uncomfortably close". It said Huang had been seen socialising with Alice Huang on several occasions and that some Nvidia employees had wondered whether the pair had a "special relationship". Jensen Huang admitted to an extramarital affair over the weekend, and Nvidia's board has since begun a formal inquiry into the relationship.

The short seller's larger argument was about where Nvidia's chips end up. Culper argued that business Nvidia lost in China because of US export controls had been rerouted through Southeast Asia. It alleged that Megaspeed, a large chip buyer in the region, was secretly financed by Alibaba through what it called "apparent shell companies". The report said Megaspeed's total liabilities and equity grew from about $33 million at the end of 2023 to roughly $3 billion a year later, much of it in refundable deposits from a source it could not identify.

Part of that financing claim now has independent support. The Financial Times reported on Monday that documents show Alibaba lent money to Megaspeed through subsidiaries.

Culper's founder, Christian Lamarco, is finally getting attention for the May report, Bloomberg reported. The firm is also now claiming that Megaspeed is not the only company helping China obtain access to Nvidia's chips, according to MarketWatch.

Culper's allegations come with clear caveats. As a short seller, it stands to profit if Nvidia's shares fall, and its claims of illegal chip diversion have not been independently verified. Megaspeed has denied wrongdoing. Huang has said there is no large-scale diversion of Nvidia products into China, and Beijing has rejected claims that it used a spy to target him.

The pressure on Nvidia has grown on several fronts this week. The shares fell 4.3% on Monday, a shareholder filed a proposed class action in San Jose over the company's ties to the suspected spy, and several law firms have announced their own investigations. Separately, a Commerce Department inquiry into suspected chip smuggling through Megaspeed was halted after Nvidia's lawyer contacted investigators, according to earlier reports.

Lawmakers have asked for a briefing on the matter by November 18, and Nvidia's lead independent director, Stephen Neal, is expected to play a central role in the board's review.