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NVIDIA faces renewed scrutiny from the US Justice Department as federal investigators examine its business practices and pursue separate inquiries involving Megaspeed and Supermicro. The developments follow Jensen Huang’s resignation amid revelations about his relationship with Alice Huang, an alleged Chinese intelligence operative.
Although the investigations cover different matters, they involve concerns about competition, semiconductor exports and regulatory compliance. Prosecutors have not indicated plans to bring criminal charges against NVIDIA or Jensen Huang.
The antitrust investigation centers on NVIDIA’s growing influence across the artificial intelligence industry. Reuters reported on October 28 that Justice Department officials had questioned the chipmaker’s proposed USD 12.93 billion acquisition of Hugging Face.
The broader investigation began during the Biden administration. According to two people familiar with the matter, officials examined NVIDIA’s acquisitions, investments and sales practices. They also questioned whether the company pressured customers.
Investigators focused partly on whether acquiring Hugging Face would give NVIDIA control over a major AI distribution platform. Such ownership would place the chipmaker alongside developers and businesses that rely on different hardware providers.
NVIDIA previously said it expected to complete the transaction during the first half of 2027. The company also maintained that Hugging Face would continue supporting various chipmakers, cloud platforms and AI providers.
Meanwhile, officials examined NVIDIA’s Groq licensing agreement and its purchases of SchedMD and Run. They also questioned whether customers received larger chip allocations when purchasing networking equipment and Groq processors.
NVIDIA declined to comment on the Reuters report. The Justice Department also declined to discuss individual investigations.
Separate scrutiny involves Megaspeed and Alice Huang, whose relationship with Jensen Huang emerged before his resignation.
Bloomberg reported that NVIDIA general counsel Tim Teter contacted Commerce Under Secretary Jeffrey Kessler in late summer 2025. The conversation concerned Megaspeed and Alice Huang’s detention in Singapore.
According to people familiar with the matter, Teter asked whether the Bureau of Industry and Security had participated in her detention. NVIDIA said its lawyer knew nothing about the affair when he contacted Kessler.
The Justice Department subsequently asked the bureau to pause its investigation in late 2025. NVIDIA said it regularly consults government officials to exchange information and seek guidance.
Megaspeed, meanwhile, denied diverting chips to China. The company said Singapore concluded its investigation earlier this year without taking adverse action against it.
Megaspeed also said U.S. officials had not responded to its efforts to engage them.
Read More: Trump Backs Tim Cook for NVIDIA CEO Role After Jensen Huang's Exit
Supermicro faces separate federal scrutiny concerning potential export-control violations. Its quarterly SEC filing disclosed a grand jury subpoena linked to three people employed by or associated with the company.
Federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment against the three individuals on March 19. The allegations concern a conspiracy to violate U.S. export restrictions.
Prosecutors requested documents covering those individuals, the alleged conduct and Supermicro’s compliance procedures. The company said it continues cooperating and supplying records.
Separately, Commerce Department officials requested information about customers and proposed transactions involving restricted graphics processors. Supermicro said authorities had not identified it as a target of those inquiries.
The company also said it could not estimate potential financial losses.
Meanwhile, Senator Michael Bennet requested updates on the Megaspeed investigation in a November 11 letter to four senior administration officials. Bennet asked officials to consider placing Megaspeed on the Entity List or blocking specified semiconductor shipments through an “Is Informed” letter.
He also sought cooperation with Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. His questions covered remote chip access, purchases through Chinese subsidiaries and intelligence sharing concerning Alice Huang.
NVIDIA faces an ongoing antitrust investigation involving its acquisitions and sales practices, while Megaspeed and Supermicro face separate export-related scrutiny. Neither NVIDIA nor Jensen Huang faces announced criminal charges. Senator Bennet has requested further information and potential export restrictions, with federal officials expected to respond by November 24.