Short seller Culper Research published a 40-page report in May questioning whether Nvidia’s China business had fallen to zero
On May 13, 2026, short seller Culper Research published a roughly 40-page report titled NVIDIA: The China Problem, publicly shorting Nvidia and saying that after the U.S. export restrictions in April 2025, the company claimed its China computing business had gone to zero, but in fact more than 20% of its fiscal 2026 computing revenue was still driven by Chinese demand, mainly achieved through GPU transshipment and intermediaries in Southeast Asia.
The report focused on Singapore-based Megaspeed, one of Nvidia’s main chip buyers in Southeast Asia. Nvidia had previously backed it, saying it had no Chinese shareholders and that there was no transshipment problem, but Culper said it found documentary clues and suspected that Alibaba provided funding to it through a Singapore shell company. Megaspeed’s balance sheet expanded from about $33 million at the end of 2023 to about $3 billion at the end of 2024, mainly from about $2.9 billion in undisclosed-source “refundable deposits.”
The report also said that Jensen Huang’s relationship with Megaspeed executive Alice Huang was uncomfortably close, that the two had attended events together, and that employees questioned whether there was a special relationship. Culper said this was not a bearish view on AI, but a bearish view on the risks to Nvidia’s China business, supply-chain compliance, and revenue expectations.
Original source:
Title: A short seller flagged Nvidia CEO’s ties to a suspected Chinese spy six months before the scandal Publisher: TechCrunch (Sarah Perez) Publication date: 2026-11-09 URL: https://techcrunch.com/2026/11/09/a-short-seller-flagged-nvidia-ceos-ties-to-a-suspected-chinese-spy-six-months-before-the-scandal/ Source type: English technology media report Verification status: This article was read for this piece, confirming the core claims of Culper’s May 13 report, Megaspeed’s financial changes, and the description of Jensen Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang; verification date: 2026-11-10 Supporting content: Supports the report’s publication date, the short thesis, the estimate that China business had not gone to zero, the funding clue involving Megaspeed and Alibaba, and observations about personal relationships, among other facts
ABAB AI Insight
Culper Research was founded by Christian Lamarco and focuses on activist research and short selling. At the time the May report was published, Nvidia’s stock price was still high and the market reaction was limited; six months later, it drew renewed attention because of reports involving Jensen Huang and Alice Huang. The report itself did not accuse anyone of espionage or an extramarital affair; rather, it treated the personal relationship as one of the observation points for supply-chain anomalies.
Megaspeed was described as one of Nvidia’s largest buyers in Southeast Asia, and its financial scale surged within a year, raising questions about the source of funds. Culper linked the funding path to Alibaba-affiliated entities, Speedmatrix and other subsidiaries, and Aivres (formerly related to Inspur), both Nvidia-certified partners, and cited trade records and employee interviews. These are arguments made by the short seller based on public documents and interviews, and have not been confirmed by independent audits or regulatory findings.
Nvidia sells through OEMs and channels, and revenue is reported by customer headquarters location; after export restrictions, direct computing sales to China were constrained. Culper believed Southeast Asian intermediaries became an alternative route and estimated that there could be a future revenue shortfall of more than $30 billion. The company had previously said it had repeatedly tested data centers and found no transshipment, and it had publicly backed Megaspeed.
The report reiterated its short position and said there was still room for the stock to fall. Future developments will depend on the progress of regulatory investigations, whether Alibaba-related funding is further verified, and whether Chinese demand truly contracts. Short reports carry conflicts of interest, and their specific figures and causal chain should be judged against official documents and independent evidence.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
On May 13, 2026, Culper Research published a 40-page report shorting Nvidia, saying that Chinese computing demand still drove more than 20% of fiscal 2026 computing revenue.
The report focused on Megaspeed, saying its balance sheet grew from about $33 million to about $3 billion within a year and questioning the funding path from Alibaba.
The report described the interactions between Jensen Huang and Alice Huang as uncomfortably close, as part of its supply-chain observations.