TWO CHINESE COMPANIES CLEARED TO BUY BANNED NVIDIA AI CHIPS HAVE EMPTY OFFICES AND UNKNOWN ADDRESSES INVESTIGATION REVEALS BUSINESSES HAVE TIES TO SANCTIONED CHINESE MILITARY SUPPLIERS

What happened: An investigation found that two Chinese companies cleared to buy Nvidia H200 chips, New Matrix and Maginfra, had empty offices and unknown addresses, and executives tied to firms sanctioned by the U.S. Key numbers: Around two dozen firms have received approval, including Baidu, BYD, Tesla Shanghai, ZTE, Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance. Why it matters: The findings raised concerns that the Commerce Department is rubber-stamping GPU export license applications instead of scrutinizing each one for potential links to Beijing, according to former NSC China director Liza Tobin. Coverage: 3 outlets in 24h

An investigation found that two Chinese companies cleared to buy Nvidia H200 chips, New Matrix and Maginfra, had empty offices and unknown addresses, and executives tied to firms sanctioned by the U.S.

The findings raised concerns that the Commerce Department is rubber-stamping GPU export license applications instead of scrutinizing each one for potential links to Beijing, according to former NSC China director Liza Tobin.