From The Verge · Terrence O'Brien · · 1m
US approved Nvidia chip sales to a fake Chinese firm
The Commerce Department cleared an empty office to buy restricted AI chips, raising questions about vetting of Chinese buyers.
In brief
The Commerce Department cleared an empty office to buy restricted AI chips, raising questions about vetting of Chinese buyers. The US government approved Nvidia H200 chip sales to New Matrix, a Chinese firm with an empty office and ties to blacklisted entities, exposing weak oversight of restricted technology exports…
Empty office approved for chip sales
The Commerce Department cleared New Matrix, a Chinese firm, to buy Nvidia's H200 AI chips.
“a hollow gray shell with wires dangling from the ceiling where lights should be”
New Matrix barely exists
The New York Times found little evidence New Matrix exists meaningfully.Created seventeen months ago, it has scant online information.
Owners tied to blacklisted firm
New Matrix's owners have ties to a Chinese private equity firm blacklisted by the US government since two thousand twenty-four.
Trump relaxed China chip restrictions
Nvidia faced restrictions under Biden. The Trump administration relaxed those limits after Nvidia agreed to give the government a fifteen-percent cut of all sales. CEO Jensen Huang also launched an intense lobbying campaign.
The headline
The US government approved Nvidia H200 chip sales to New Matrix, a Chinese firm with an empty office and ties to blacklisted entities, exposing weak oversight of restricted technology exports.
