Unconfirmed: Techmeme said on X on 9 November that a New York Times report says the Justice Department took over a Commerce Department probe of Megaspeed over alleged Nvidia chip smuggling to China.
Automatica has not independently confirmed the claim. @Techmeme wrote on X on 9 November 20261: "Sources: a Commerce Department investigation into Megaspeed for allegedly smuggling Nvidia chips to China was transferred to the DOJ after Nvidia intervened (New York Times)." The post adds: "Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!" The account had about 427,500 followers when observed. Reach is not verification, and Techmeme is relaying a report, not reporting this itself.
So the claim rests on a second-hand summary. The post does not explain its "Sources:" label. It does not say how many sources the Times used, who they are, or whether they are current officials, company insiders or others. Automatica has not seen the Times article or its exact wording. We cannot tell how closely Techmeme's headline follows the original, or whether the Times itself describes the transfer and Nvidia's role as the post does.
The post leaves open several points that matter for assessing it. It does not say what "intervened" means: whether Nvidia lodged a complaint, supplied information, or asked for the case to move. It gives no date for the transfer, no scale for the alleged smuggling, such as chip counts or values, and no detail on Megaspeed's alleged role. Automatica found no statement from Nvidia, Megaspeed, the Justice Department or the Commerce Department in the material available to it.
Automatica has no earlier reporting on Megaspeed or on any chip-export investigation, so nothing we have published supports or undercuts the claim. Our only related coverage concerns the same company. On 8 November, Automatica Press reported2 that Jensen Huang published an apology on Nvidia's newsroom and acknowledged an independent board investigation tied to "national security concerns". Nothing in that report mentions Megaspeed, and Automatica has found no evidence linking the two matters.
A published New York Times article that matches the Techmeme wording would largely settle what was reported, though it would not by itself prove the underlying facts. A statement or filing from the Justice Department or the Commerce Department confirming the transfer would settle the substance. A Times article that says something different, or an agency denial, would undercut the claim. Automatica found none of these.