Report: Trump Admin Cleared AI Chip Sales to Chinese Companies With Empty Offices
Questions about approved buyers
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security approved New Matrix to use Nvidia chips, despite limited public information about the company, according to The New York Times. The firm reportedly did not occupy the building listed as its address.
Chinese corporate records reportedly connect New Matrix to Wise Road, a private equity firm blacklisted by the U.S. government two years earlier. Analysts cited by the Times suggested New Matrix could be a front for companies associated with Wise Road.
Links to sanctioned firms
Wise Road founder Li Bin also chairs Tsinghua Unigroup, a technology group with government ownership, the Times reported. U.S. authorities placed a Wise Road subsidiary, New H3C Semiconductor Technologies, on the entity list over supplying China’s military.
Records also reportedly connect other Chinese companies approved for Nvidia chips to U.S.-blacklisted firms or to military contracting in China. The report said those connections raised questions about oversight of export-control rules.
Concerns over oversight
The Biden administration had restricted AI chip sales to China over concerns about possible military benefits. The Trump administration later eased those rules following lobbying by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, the Times reported. Nvidia spokesman John Rizzo said it “makes no sense” for China’s military to rely on American technology.
Key points
- The Commerce Department approved Nvidia AI chip sales to dozens of Chinese companies, according to The New York Times.
- New Matrix reportedly had little online information and did not occupy its listed address.
- Records reportedly linked approved buyers to blacklisted firms or Chinese military contractors.
- The Trump administration loosened restrictions after lobbying by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.