Chinese AI firms race to lock in Nvidia capacity abroad
Chinese AI firms are rushing to rent Nvidia-powered computing outside China, fearing the Huang scandal could close the remote-access gap in US export controls. The House passed a bill on such access 369–22 in January.
A rush for overseas compute
Chinese artificial intelligence companies are trying to rent Nvidia-powered computing capacity at data centers outside China, concerned that the scandal around chief executive Jensen Huang could spur Washington to tighten restrictions on their remote use of advanced processors, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
A major Chinese cloud provider has discussed internally whether to lock in overseas Nvidia chip capacity, while some companies have contacted data center operators about reserving it, the people said. Smaller AI labs are considering similar steps, including approaching major providers of rented computing power in Southeast Asia.
The bill in the background
The companies fear the controversy could add political momentum to the Remote Access Security Act, known as RASA, a US bill that would give the Commerce Department authority to regulate remote, cloud-based access to restricted technology. The House of Representatives passed the bill in January by a 369–22 vote, and it awaits Senate action.
Washington restricts exports to China of Nvidia's most advanced AI chips, but Chinese companies can access the processors remotely by renting computing power at data centers overseas. Restricting that access would make it harder for Chinese developers to obtain high-end computing power without importing the chips directly.
- House vote on RASA369–22 in January
- Super Micro servers boughtAbout $2.5 billion
- Years of server purchases2024–2025
Grey-market stockpiling
The prospect of tougher enforcement has also fueled demand for restricted Nvidia AI chips in China's grey market, prompting traders and intermediaries to start stockpiling the processors, two of the people told Reuters. Buyers fear the controversy could prompt a broader US crackdown on smuggling of advanced chips and AI servers into China.
A Chinese university with deep ties to the People's Liberation Army bought Nvidia's H200 AI chips last month despite being on a US export blacklist, procurement records show. In March, US prosecutors charged Super Micro Computer co-founder Yih-Shyan "Wally" Liaw and two others with conspiring to divert servers containing Nvidia chips to China through a Southeast Asia-based company.
Prosecutors said the company bought about $2.5 billion of servers from Super Micro between 2024 and 2025, and that a substantial portion was diverted to China. The defendants have not been convicted.
Why the scandal changed the calculus
Alice Huang, the former Megaspeed executive at the center of the scandal, had business dealings and investment ties with several leading Chinese technology companies, including Tencent and Alibaba, according to two people familiar with the matter. Singapore business filings show that Alibaba subsidiary Apex Enterprise Solutions provided financing to Speedmatrix, a Malaysian company linked to Megaspeed, according to records reviewed by Reuters.
Megaspeed has faced scrutiny over suspicions that it helped Chinese customers gain access to advanced Nvidia chips subject to US export controls. The company has denied illegally diverting chips to China. Nvidia, Megaspeed and the US Commerce Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
