Bessent blames Commerce Department for blocking Megaspeed chip export
· Technology · BBC News, Financial Times, Hindustan Times
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has publicly blamed the Commerce Department, led by Howard Lutnick, for failing to add Megaspeed to the export control list despite agencies' support. The cloud computing firm is under scrutiny for allegedly smuggling advanced Nvidia chips into China, though it is not currently on the entity list restricting US companies. Bessent told CNBC that agencies favoured placing Megaspeed on the list for months, but Commerce holds the authority. Jensen Huang departed Nvidia after an affair with a former Megaspeed executive, and the White House pressured the department to block chip shipments to China. The situation highlights tensions over export controls as President Trump vowed China should not receive Nvidia chips above H100s.
Why it matters
The dispute threatens to disrupt the AI supply chain, as any leakage of high-spec Nvidia chips to China compromises the US technological advantage and hurts domestic AI firms. Megaspeed's potential inclusion on the entity list could restrict its access to US chips, impacting global cloud computing dynamics.
Read the original report — BBC News
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