The US has banned the exports of high-end artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China. However, despite this the Chinese universities and institutes have obtained Nvidia’s high-resolution AI chips through resellers, according to a Reuters report on Tuesday.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Shandong Artificial Intelligence Institute, the Hubei Earthquake Administration, the universities of Shandong and Southwest, a tech investment firm owned by the Heilongjiang provincial government, a state-run aviation research centre, and a space science centre were all included in the list of buyers.
Nvidia is banned from exporting advanced AI chips to China. This measure was put into effect last year as part of the US government's initiative to bolster its security protocols. However, 10 Chinese entities have still managed to obtain cutting-edge Nvidia chips integrated into server products, the report mentioned.
Ten Chinese organisations purchased sophisticated Nvidia chips integrated into server products manufactured by Super Micro Computer, Dell Technologies and Taiwan's Gigabyte Technology Co following the US expanding the embargo on 17 November to include additional chips and countries under licensing regulations.
The servers were found to house Nvidia's cutting-edge chips, as revealed in undisclosed contracts executed from 20 November to 28 February. Despite the US restrictions prohibiting Nvidia and its affiliates from supplying advanced chips to China, even through intermediaries, the transactions involving these chips remain lawful in China.
The chips were sold by 11 obscure Chinese retailers. It is uncertain if these retailers utilised stockpiles obtained before the implementation of stricter chip-export regulations by the US in November.
The server manufacturers stated their compliance with relevant legislation and expressed their commitment to conduct further investigations.
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