Smuggling exposes China accessing NVIDIA chips despite US export bans
Technology
Despite tough US export bans, China is still finding ways to use NVIDIA's powerful AI chips.
A recent smuggling scandal has put the spotlight on how valuable these chips are: NVIDIA is now as big in market value as Apple.
The whole situation shows just how central NVIDIA is to the global AI race.
Chinese firms rent Asian data centers
Chinese companies aren't just smuggling chips; they're also renting data center access in Southeast Asia, letting them tap into NVIDIA's tech remotely without breaking export laws.
At the same time, Chinese chip makers like Huawei are quickly improving their own AI chips, thanks to government support and cheap local power, though they haven't quite caught up to NVIDIA yet.