Underground Network Smuggles Nvidia AI Chips Into China Despite US Sanctions

Jul 3, 2024, 10:18 AM

A network of buyers, sellers, and couriers is bypassing the Biden administration’s restrictions aimed at denying China access to Nvidia’s advanced AI chips. This underground network exploits supply-chain blind spots to smuggle Nvidia's AI GPUs into China, sometimes using informal markets and even students' luggage. Despite US sanctions, these GPUs are reaching Chinese buyers, with some smugglers selling entire servers. The Wall Street Journal, in an article by Raffaele Huang, has reported on this issue, highlighting the challenges in enforcing export controls on such small and easily transportable devices.