US approved Nvidia AI chip sales to a Chinese firm with an empty office

In short: US officials approved Nvidia H200 chip sales to Chinese firms, including one that reporters say appears to have an empty office and ties to a blacklisted group.

What happened

Concerns are growing about how the US government and Nvidia check, or vet, Chinese companies that are allowed to buy Nvidia’s H200 chips. These chips are powerful computer parts used to run and train AI systems (like the engine in a very fast car, but for AI).

According to The New York Times, one approved buyer is a company called New Matrix. Reporters visited the address New Matrix listed and found what they described as an empty space with unfinished wiring and no clear signs of an operating business. The Times also reported it found very little reliable information about the company online.

The Times said New Matrix’s owners have ties to a Chinese private equity firm that has been blacklisted by the US government since 2024. A blacklist is a do not deal with list used for national security reasons. The report also suggested this is not a one off mistake, but part of a broader pattern of approvals for companies connected to restricted entities.

Nvidia’s ability to sell certain AI chips to China has changed over time. The Verge reports that Nvidia faced tighter limits during the Biden administration. The Trump administration later relaxed those limits after Nvidia agreed to give the US government 15 percent of its sales and after the company’s CEO, Jensen Huang, pushed for the change.

Why it matters

AI chips are a key ingredient for advanced AI, and they can also be used for military and surveillance tools. If approvals go to shell companies (like a fake storefront set up to buy goods for someone else), it becomes harder to enforce national security rules. The situation may increase calls for stricter checks, more transparency, or new limits on high end chip exports.

Source: The Verge AI