US approved Nvidia chip sales to empty Chinese office
The Verge: The US let Nvidia sell chips to an empty office in China
Concerns are being raised that neither the Commerce Department nor Nvidia are doing their due diligence when it comes to vetting Chinese firms cleared to handle the company's H200 AI chips. According to The New York Times, New Matrix is on the list of approved firms, yet its offices are empty, "a hollow gray shell with wires dangling from the ceiling where lights should be." In fact, the paper could find little evidence that the company exists in any meaningful way: Only scant
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The US government has approved sales of an AI chipmaker's products to Chinese firms that have ties to blacklisted companies, raising concerns about insufficient vetting. One approved firm operates out of an empty office with no meaningful business presence, according to reporting, yet it was cleared to purchase the chips. The government relaxed restrictions on these sales after the chipmaker agreed to give the government a cut of all sales revenue. This pattern of approving purchases by questionable companies connected to entities with national-security-related trade restrictions suggests a broader oversight problem.
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Also reported by Ars Technica, TechCrunch and Wired AI
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