Warren and Coons demand Nvidia export records be preserved, citing $4.8 billion of chips sold to Megaspeed

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) sent a letter on Wednesday asking the Trump administration to preserve documents about Nvidia's advanced AI chip exports to China, Fox Business reported. Reuters and Bloomberg also carried the story. The letter went to Secretary of State and national security adviser Marco Rubio, White House chief of staff Stephen Miller and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Nvidia was quoted at $158.75 before the open on Thursday, down 8.6% from Wednesday's $173.73 close, according to the Nasdaq.com quote at 8:41 a.m. ET. Premarket prices can reverse by the open.

What the senators are asking for

Per Fox Business, the senators want written confirmation by Nov. 17 that the administration has told agencies to keep three kinds of records:

• communications between Nvidia executives and senior administration officials;
• records of investigations into possible smuggling of advanced AI chips;
• decisions to weaken or suspend export controls on advanced AI technology.

They also asked for a congressional briefing on the national security risks. The letter says reports suggest officials at the White House, State and Commerce knew of concerns about Nvidia's relationship with Megaspeed and a suspected Chinese intelligence operation, yet did not stop the flow of chips. In the senators' words, the incident "raises significant concerns about the federal government's ability to effectively enforce our export controls."

The number behind the number: $4.8 billion

The letter describes Megaspeed as a Singapore-based company that has reportedly bought more than $4.8 billion of advanced Nvidia chips since June 2024. It cites reporting that the Justice Department is investigating Megaspeed for potentially diverting chips to China, and that a separate Commerce Department inquiry was altered after contact with Nvidia representatives. These are the senators' characterizations of press reports. Fox Business said it had asked the White House, State, Commerce, Justice, Nvidia and Megaspeed for comment.

That figure matters more than the personal story. A preservation request is a standard step before a formal inquiry, and it signals which documents Democrats want when they ask for hearings. It also reaches the H200 licenses: House Foreign Affairs Democrats posted that Rubio and Lutnick "have continued to approve licenses for H200 chips to China," per the same Fox report.

Where this sits in the Nvidia story

This is separate from the leadership question. Nvidia's board has an independent investigation under way, and the Journal reported it is weighing Jensen Huang's future, as we covered in our report on the $450 billion drop in market value. President Trump has said Huang had no idea about the woman's alleged role. Reuters separately reported the H200 chips were tied to a Chinese university on a military blacklist.

Who it hits

Holders of the index funds that own Nvidia carry the stock's weight whether they chose it or not. Beyond the stock, the export-license trail is the exposure: if records show licenses approved over warnings, the risk shifts from one executive to the revenue Nvidia books from China, and to the customers who resell its chips. Nasdaq.com lists Nvidia as expected to report earnings after the close on Nov. 17, the same day as the senators' deadline; the company's House briefing is set for Nov. 18

A preservation letter from two senators in the minority carries no legal force. The administration can ignore the Nov. 17 date, and none of the allegations about Megaspeed has been proven in court.

Sources: Fox Business; Reuters and Bloomberg reports on the letter; Nasdaq.com. This is market information, not investment advice.