S’pore-based Apex Logistics ‘fully cooperating’ in US probe into alleged smuggling of Nvidia chips

SINGAPORE – Singapore-based Apex Logistics, which is reportedly being probed by the US government for its alleged role in smuggling Nvidia artificial intelligence chips to China, is cooperating with the authorities, its owner said.

Swiss logistics giant Kuehne+Nagel acquired a majority stake in Apex Logistics in May 2021 and bought over the rest of the firm in October 2025.

In a response to The Straits Times on Aug 27, a Kuehne+Nagel spokesperson confirmed that “Apex Logistics is fully cooperating with the relevant authorities regarding this isolated matter within a wider US government investigation”.

The spokesperson also said Kuehne+Nagel has not been contacted by the authorities.

“As this matter does not relate to Kuehne+Nagel and remains subject to an ongoing investigation, we are unable to comment further,” the spokesperson added.

Apex, which was founded in Shanghai in 2001, is described on its website as a specialist in “cross-border logistics and supply chain management, integrating air, sea, rail, truck and other transportation modes”.

It has a footprint across the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania, and was ranked as the top airfreight forwarder in China in 2025, the website added.

The firm, which has set its headquarters in Singapore, was incorporated in the Republic in February 2016, Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) records show.

Its primary business activity is listed as freight transport arrangement, while its secondary business activity is cargo surveying services, according to ACRA.

Bloomberg had earlier on Aug 27 reported that the US was investigating Apex over its suspected role in supplying AI chips to China, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The news outlet said the investigation may result in the first action against a transportation company for its alleged participation in the illegal semiconductor trade.

According to its sources, the smuggling routes that the US suspects Apex may have facilitated involve the transportation of Nvidia-powered AI servers from Taiwan to the US, then to an Asian destination outside of China, before delivery to Hong Kong.

The sources said the servers were then driven from Hong Kong into mainland China.

Sources familiar with the US investigation said it was focused on the export of AI servers on one part of that journey, from the US to South-east Asia.

Apex said in a statement to Bloomberg that it was aware of the US’ “concern for and interest in a small number of shipments that Apex handled in 2024 and which may have involved materials and equipment which were ultimately forwarded to prohibited locations”.

The firm added that it was cooperating fully with the US investigation and is “committed to complete compliance” with all relevant regulations.

Washington has, since 2022, put restrictions on the sale of high-end AI chips to China, including more recently on H20 chips designed specifically for the market, over concerns that these could be used to support the Chinese military.

Nvidia chips are widely used around the world to train and run AI models. The chips are then assembled into servers, which are installed in data centres.

Bloomberg sources also said the servers transported by Apex were assembled by California-based Super Micro Computer.

However, the sources added that Super Micro does not have a direct business relationship with Apex, as Apex handles shipments on behalf of the customers that purchase the servers, rather than the server-makers.

The news comes as US President Donald Trump’s administration turns up the ante on transshipment, a common logistics practice used to transfer goods from one means of transport to another, on the way to their final destination.

The US has said that Singapore and dozens of other economies are at risk of being used by Chinese exporters to avoid American tariffs.

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said during the National Day Rally on Aug 23 that the Republic will not allow itself to be used as a conduit for illegal trade practices, but nor can it possibly trace and verify the entire supply chain behind every product that passes through its shores.

He was referring to the higher 12.5 per cent tariffs imposed by the US on Singapore’s exports, due to the alleged use of forced labour, as well as to concerns raised by the US over goods being routed through other countries to circumvent tariffs.