We reported a few months back how NVIDIA's H100 GPUs, which remain under a strict US export control regime in relation to China, were readily accessible via Super Micro Computer's dealers within the Asian giant. Well, this issue has finally caught the attention of the authorities in the US.
U.S. PROBES $NVDA CHIP SMUGGLING TO CHINA: INFORMATION
The Commerce Dept has asked NVIDIA to investigate how its chips ended up in China despite export restrictions, per The Information. NVIDIA instructed major distributors, including Supermicro and Dell, to conduct spot checks…
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) December 19, 2024
To wit, The Information is now reporting that the US Commerce Department has formally asked NVIDIA to investigate how its chips that remain subject to export controls were ending up in China.
For its part, NVIDIA has asked its major distributors, including Super Micro Computer and Dell, to conduct spot checks on their regional customers.
NVIDIA is particularly concerned as to how some of the end-users in China were purportedly able to forge server serial numbers to circumvent the restrictions imposed under the prevailing US export controls.
Back in April, our own search on Baidu had yielded a number of posts, including one which promised a large shipment of NVIDIA's H100 chips "arriving in Hong Kong in two weeks, and can be picked up in Shenzhen or Zhengzhou." Some of the posts also included data sheets bearing Super Micro Computer's logo.
Similarly, a post on ZOL at the time also referenced a promotion of H100 chips from Super Micro Computer. The listing on Zol is still easily accessible but whether the GPUs are with the poster cannot be verified.
Of course, this development comes as the relation between NVIDIA and Super Micro Computer appear somewhat strained.
Digi Times reported back in November that NVIDIA was redirecting some of its orders that were originally placed with SMCI to other suppliers.
Similarly, during Super Micro Computer's Q1'25 earnings call, when asked by an analyst as to when Blackwell revenues would start showing up in SMCI's books, the company's CEO Charles Liang had bemoaned that "we are asking NVIDIA every day [for those chips]."
For the benefit of those who might not be aware, Hindenburg Research had leveled damning allegations against Super Micro Computer back in August, detailing a litany of malpractices at the firm.
Those allegations had then prompted the firm to delay the filing of its annual report for FY 2024 and the quarterly financial statements for Q1 2025. The Nasdaq exchange then concluded that this inordinate delay was inconsistent with its listing requirements.
However, on the 06th of December, Nasdaq accepted Super Micro Computer's plan to regain compliance with the exchange's listing requirements, and granted a reprieve until the 25th of February 2025.
Meanwhile, SMCI's relentless share price plunge has been sufficient to push the stock out of the Nasdaq 100 index.
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