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Over $1 Billion of Nvidia AI Chips Smuggled Into China as U.S. Weighs Tighter Export Curbs

Chinese black markets fueled by underground repairs of banned Nvidia chips have prompted the Commerce Department to consider stricter transit controls

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Nvidia Hopper H100 GPU and DGX systems

Overview

  • At least $1 billion worth of high-end B200, H100 and H200 processors entered China through grey-market channels since April, despite U.S. bans
  • Distributors in Guangdong, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces sold prebuilt Nvidia server racks to local data centers, according to sales contracts and filings
  • Shenzhen-based repair firms say they now service up to 500 smuggled Nvidia chips per month, underscoring the diversion’s scale
  • The Commerce Department is examining new restrictions on Southeast Asian transit hubs such as Thailand and Malaysia ahead of a September review
  • Nvidia maintains it has seen no evidence of official product diversion and warns that unauthorized deployments lack technical support and economic viability