Nvidia manager indicted in Taiwan AI chip smuggling case

Investing.com -- Taiwanese prosecutors indicted a senior Nvidia Corp. manager along with eight others for allegedly smuggling advanced AI chips into China, according to a Bloomberg report Monday citing people familiar with the matter. The case marks Taiwan's first known crackdown on the black-market trade of such accelerators.

The Nvidia employee, surnamed Chang, allegedly organized the shipment of 74 servers containing high-end B300 chips into China via Japan and Indonesia, circumventing US trade restrictions. He was initially detained last month and could not be reached.

The group also attempted to smuggle another 56 servers, which Taiwanese authorities seized, according to the indictment. Taiwan also indicted two senior employees of Super Micro Computer Inc., which manufactured the hardware, the report added.

The Keelung District Prosecutors Office stated Monday that the group "colluded vertically and horizontally for exorbitant profits, illegally exporting high-end servers, increasing corporate compliance costs, and severely damaging Taiwan's international image."

Washington has restricted China from purchasing American AI chips, but companies there have obtained the accelerators through a black market. US officials have alleged that billions of dollars worth of Nvidia hardware has reached China over the past few years.

Prosecutors are seeking five years for Chang, whom they described as the "core figure" in the scheme, for forgery and breach of trust, the report said.

Taiwan has not accused Nvidia as a company of any wrongdoing. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. serves as a close partner to Nvidia and leads a supply chain ecosystem critical to the company's chipmaking and product development.

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