Chinese AI firms seek Nvidia capacity abroad as Huang scandal stirs fear of US curbs
Chinese companies are approaching overseas data centres, including in Southeast Asia, fearing Washington will close a cloud-access gap in export controls.
Chinese artificial intelligence companies are trying to rent computing capacity powered by Nvidia chips at data centres outside China. They are worried that a scandal involving the chipmaker's chief executive, Jensen Huang, could push Washington to restrict their remote use of advanced processors. The Hindu and Mint both carried the Reuters report, which cited three people familiar with the matter.
The US bars exports of Nvidia's most advanced AI chips to China, but Chinese companies can still use them by renting computing power at overseas data centres. According to the people, a major Chinese cloud provider has discussed internally whether to lock in overseas capacity, and some companies have contacted data-centre operators about reserving it. Two of the people said smaller AI labs were considering similar steps, including approaching major providers of rented computing power in Southeast Asia. The cloud provider was not named because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The concern centres on the Remote Access Security Act, a US bill that would give the Commerce Department authority to regulate remote, cloud-based access to restricted technology. The House of Representatives passed it 369-22 in January and it is awaiting Senate action. The companies fear the Huang controversy could give the bill political momentum.
Huang said on Sunday that he had been unfaithful to his wife. The New York Times reported that the woman was Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based cloud-computing company Megaspeed, and that US authorities had concluded she was a Chinese intelligence asset. China has denied the allegation. Reuters said it could not independently verify it.
Two people said Alice Huang had business dealings and investment ties with leading Chinese technology companies including Tencent and Alibaba, neither of which immediately responded to requests for comment. Singapore business filings reviewed by Reuters show that Apex Enterprise Solutions, an Alibaba subsidiary, provided financing to Speedmatrix, a Malaysian company linked to Megaspeed.
Megaspeed has faced scrutiny over suspicions it helped Chinese customers gain access to export-controlled Nvidia chips. The company denies illegally diverting chips to China. Nvidia, Megaspeed and the Commerce Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The prospect of tougher enforcement has also lifted demand for restricted Nvidia chips on China's grey market, two of the people said. Traders and intermediaries have started stockpiling the processors because buyers fear a broader US crackdown on smuggling of advanced chips and AI servers into China. Separately, procurement records show a Chinese university with deep ties to the People's Liberation Army bought Nvidia's H200 chips last month despite being on a US export blacklist.
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 allege that 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.
Sources: The Hindu, Chinese AI firms rush to secure Nvidia chip capacity as spy scandal stirs fear of U.S. curbs; Mint, Chinese AI firms rush to secure Nvidia chip capacity as spy scandal stirs fear of US curbs.
