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Nvidia senior manager linked to Supermicro scheme smuggling AI servers to China
Nvidia worker indicted after Jensen Huang scolded Supermicro for AI server smuggling.
Taiwan has indicted nine people—reportedly including an Nvidia senior manager and two Supermicro employees based in the country—who allegedly helped forge documents to cover up illegal exports of high-end AI servers to China in violation of US export controls.
On Monday, Reuters reported that prosecutors in Keelung did not release any names but confirmed that the suspects were “charged with breach of trust and document forgery.” One suspect linked to a related case remains at large, accused of the “siphoning of funds from a distributor company involved” in helping China get access to restricted Nvidia chips.
Since 2022, the US has required a license to export semiconductors to China, with the intent of protecting national security by staying ahead of China in the AI race. But after the US arrested Supermicro co-founder Wally Liaw in March for allegedly funneling $2.5 billion in restricted AI servers to China since 2024, Taiwan launched a separate probe to learn more about the scheme.
Taiwan’s investigation found that co-conspirators attempted to falsify documents to make it appear that 130 B300 servers were installed and in use at a Taiwan facility. But 74 of those servers “were ultimately exported and delivered to Chinese customers,” Reuters reported, while the rest, 56, were intended to go to China but were blocked once Taiwanese customs officials “detected irregularities.”
Ars could not reach Supermicro or Nvidia for comment.
In a statement to PC Mag, Supermicro has previously confirmed that it’s cooperating with Taiwanese investigators.
“Supermicro is committed to protecting our advanced technologies and intellectual property. We are working closely with Taiwanese authorities on recent events, which underscore the importance of continued collaboration across industry and government to strengthen safeguards, enhance supply chain visibility, and facilitate the enforcement of export control laws,” Supermicro said.
The firm is not a target of the probe, Supermicro emphasized, which so far has targeted at least 12 locations to uncover suspected smugglers. Although US employees are believed to be integral to the scheme, Lauren Barden-Hair, an expert in China’s power over multinational firms across Southeast Asia, posted an op-ed in The Hill, noting that the US found that “a nameless Southeast Asian firm” was “at the heart of the operation.” That firm allegedly coordinated with co-conspirators at Supermicro and Nvidia, succeeding for years at ensuring that China wasn’t completely blocked from accessing Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips.
Both US firms will likely need to assess the steps they take to comply with US export controls. In May, before any Nvidia employees were linked directly to the scheme, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was highly critical of Supermicro for its failing compliance program, urging that a fix was needed, Tom’s Hardware reported.