Short seller says Nvidia's China chip trail is longer than known, as Washington fights over Huang
A short seller alleges more firms route Nvidia chips toward China, just as Congress weighs tighter export rules and Jensen Huang's influence is questioned.
The short version
- Culper Research says at least 6 more Southeast Asian companies have questionable chip dealings.
- Culper's founder also points to Singapore firm Megaspeed, which was already under scrutiny.
- Reuters found a blacklisted Chinese university bought two Nvidia H200 chips in October.
- Lawmakers want three chip-control bills added to the 2027 defense authorization act.
- Culper's claims are allegations that still need to be checked.
Why it matters
Export controls only work if chips and the computing power they provide can be tracked. Each new example gives hawks in Washington a stronger case for tighter rules. That could affect Nvidia's business and any AI service that depends on computing capacity rented abroad.
A short seller's allegation
As technews.tw reported, Culper Research, a US short-selling firm, says the flow of Nvidia's top chips to China may be just the tip of the iceberg. Its founder, Christian Lamarco, says that besides Singapore's Megaspeed, the firm found at least 6 Southeast Asian companies whose deals deserve a closer look.
A short seller profits when a stock falls, so it has a reason to publish damaging claims. The report itself says these allegations still need to be verified.
How chips can reach China indirectly
Culper suggests some Chinese firms may get restricted chips, or the computing power they offer, through overseas companies, third-party suppliers and cloud data centers.
A Reuters investigation gave one concrete case. Northwestern Polytechnical University is on the US export blacklist and has close ties to China's military. It still bought two Nvidia H200 chips in October through a Chinese supplier, for roughly 87 萬 yuan (萬 means ten thousand).
Reuters also found that Chinese research groups can rent high-end computing power. In that case the chips never have to be shipped into China.
Huang and the politics
The Wall Street Journal has reported that Huang built a close relationship with President Trump. He argues that a total ban on high-end chip exports will not stop China's AI progress and may push Chinese firms to build their own alternatives, which would hurt US companies' global competitiveness.
Security officials and lawmakers who take a hard line on China disagree. They want strict limits to keep advanced chips away from military and intelligence uses.
What Congress may do
According to Reuters, lawmakers from both parties want three measures in the 2027 fiscal-year defense authorization act. They are:
- More congressional oversight of high-end AI chip exports.
- A requirement that companies track where chips go, to stop smuggling.
- Joint action with allies to limit chip-equipment exports to China.
These measures are already in the Senate version of the bill's plan. Nothing is final yet.
What to watch
- Will regulators or Nvidia confirm or dispute Culper's claims about the 6 firms?
- Will the three chip-control measures stay in the final defense bill?
Try it
If you buy AI through a software vendor, ask where its servers sit and which model runs underneath. Rule changes would reach hosted services first.
Sources and links
- Reportingtechnews.tw: the article we sourced
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Listen to the daily showsFirst reported by technews.tw · Read the original. Written by the SI Agent News Desk from the reporting above.Written with AI from the source above. Every number is checked against the source. Spot a mistake? Corrections.