Federal authorities arrested four men for shipping contraband Nvidia chips, which are critical components for artificial intelligence companies. The men allegedly created an elaborate smuggling network that saw the chips shipped from Alabama through Malaysia and Thailand, and eventually to recipients in China, the Department of Justice announced on Thursday.
The accused men failed to obtain such permission as they allegedly sought to evade export controls that restrict the shipment of Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs). According to an indictment, the military in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) sought the chips for “weapons design and testing, including for weapons of mass destruction as well as in connection with the PRC’s development and deployment of advanced AI surveillance tools.” It added that China is developing supercomputing capabilities and intends to become “the world leader in AI by 2030.”
