🫠🫠Under pressure from the US government 🇺🇸, NVIDIA is keeping a tight rein on AI chip access, dramatically slashing its list of Asian AI chip customers

According to insiders, over the past few months NVIDIA has significantly increased its due-diligence efforts for customers in places such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan. Under this new round of especially strict review, more than half of the customers were removed from the authorized list. However, companies that failed to pass the first round of review still have a chance to resubmit their applications after making compliance-related rectifications.
Those affected by this round of review are mostly “emerging AI cloud service providers.” These companies offer customized cloud services specifically for AI computing workloads. Insiders said that NVIDIA has tightened its review mechanisms mainly due to pressure from the US government. Currently, the US side is working to crack down on intermediaries to cut off channels that could potentially facilitate chip black-market trading.
Under the latest review mechanism, NVIDIA employees will personally travel to customers’ data centers to carry out on-site visits, check relevant contracts, and directly interview end users to verify the authenticity of these companies’ businesses. Insiders noted that the US Department of Commerce is also involved in the process, providing regulatory and political support.