Chinese entities have acquired high-end Nvidia Corp NVDA chips through third-party vendors despite the US expanding its ban on the sale of such technology to China in November.
Tenders fulfilled between Nov. 20 and Feb. 28 showed that the servers contained some of Nvidia’s most advanced chips.
The U.S. subjected more chips and countries to licensing rules as part of its embargo on Nov. 17.
Chinese retailers obtained the chips, and it is unclear if they used stockpiles acquired before the US tightened chip-export restrictions in November.
Nvidia stated that the tenders do not indicate that any of its partners violated the export control rules.
The server makers also claimed they complied with applicable laws or would investigate further.
A partner at a law firm suggested that Nvidia chips might have been redirected to China without the manufacturer’s awareness due to a lack of transparency in downstream supply chains.
A Dell spokesperson said the company would continue to investigate the matter.
Despite the ban, Chinese entities, including the military and government sectors, have managed to procure Nvidia chips through various means, highlighting the challenges faced by the US in completely cutting off China’s access to advanced U.S. chips.
