US authorities are trying in various ways to limit the access of Chinese companies to advanced computing accelerators of American origin, but sometimes they also have questions directly to equipment manufacturers. According to The Information, the US Department of Commerce has now asked Nvidia to analyze how its products entered China during the current year under sanctions.
Image source: NVIDIA
In turn, Nvidia turned to large suppliers such as Super Micro Computer and Dell Technologies in order to conduct a random check of their clients in Southeast Asia to ensure compliance with restrictions on the supply of servers with certain types of Nvidia accelerators to the PRC. Five sources involved in the shipment of Nvidia accelerators to China in circumvention of sanctions told The Information that they have so far managed to avoid disclosure of such transactions. Nvidia representatives responded to such a publication as follows: “We insist that all our customers and partners strictly comply with export restrictions. Any unauthorized deviation from them for used products, including resale on the so-called gray market, would be a problem for our business rather than a source of benefit.”
Super Micro representatives familiar with the investigation suggested that buyers could replace the serial numbers of server equipment using values assigned to systems operated outside of China. In some cases, the serial number was replaced at the operating system level, which further complicated the detection of contraband. Dell representatives said they require customers to comply with all legal requirements and regulations. If a company partner does not follow this principle, the contract with him may be terminated. Super Micro also requires all of its partners to comply with U.S. export controls. According to Omdia estimates, this year the top three largest buyers of Nvidia accelerators from the Hopper family included two Chinese companies, although Microsoft remained the leader by a wide margin.