Nvidia Taiwan Manager Among Nine Indicted in AI Chip Smuggling Operation to China

COLOMBO (News 1st); Taiwanese prosecutors have indicted nine individuals, including a senior manager at Nvidia's Taiwan branch and employees of Supermicro's office in New Taipei, over allegations of illegally exporting advanced artificial intelligence hardware to China.

According to prosecutors, the suspects are accused of working together to export and conceal the sale of more than 100 servers equipped with Nvidia's highly sought-after Blackwell graphics processing units (GPUs), which are among the most powerful AI chips currently available.

Authorities allege that the operation violated U.S. export control restrictions that prohibit the sale of certain advanced semiconductor technologies to China. The restrictions are designed to limit Beijing's access to cutting-edge AI and high-performance computing technologies with potential military and strategic applications.

Investigators claim the group orchestrated the movement and sale of the servers while attempting to disguise the final destination of the hardware. The indictment follows a lengthy investigation into the alleged trafficking network and the movement of restricted technology.

Taiwanese prosecutors are seeking prison sentences of up to six years against the accused on charges that include illegal exports and embezzlement involving more than US$1 million.

Several of the suspects are reportedly being held incommunicado as the investigation continues, while one individual remains at large.