BEIJING, Nov 12 (Reuters) – Chinese AI companies are trying to rent Nvidia-powered computing capacity outside China, worried that the scandal involving the US chipmaker’s CEO Jensen Huang could spur Washington to tighten restrictions on their remote use of advanced processors, three people familiar with the matter said.
Seeking to protect US dominance of the critical sector, Washington restricts exports to China of Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips. But Chinese companies can access such processors remotely by renting computing power at data centres overseas.
The current move to secure rented capacity points to growing concern among Chinese technology companies that the gap in US export controls may now be closed.
A major Chinese cloud provider has discussed internally whether to lock in overseas Nvidia chip capacity, while some companies have contacted data-centre operators about reserving it, the people said. The people declined to be identified, or to identify the cloud provider, due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Smaller AI labs are considering similar steps, including approaching major providers of rented computing power in Southeast Asia, two of the people said.
The companies fear the controversy surrounding Huang could add political momentum to the Remote Access Security Act, or RASA, a US bill that would give the Commerce Department authority to regulate remote, cloud-based access to restricted technology, the people said. The House of Representatives passed the bill in January by a 369-22 vote, and it awaits Senate action.
Advanced Nvidia processors are used to train and run the large AI models behind chatbots and other generative AI products. Restricting overseas cloud access would make it harder for Chinese developers to obtain high-end computing power without importing the chips directly.
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Nvidia’s Huang said on Sunday that he had been unfaithful to his wife. The New York Times reported that the woman involved was Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based cloud-computing company Megaspeed, and that US authorities had concluded she was a Chinese intelligence asset. Jensen and Alice Huang are not related.
Reuters could not independently verify that allegation, which China has denied.
Megaspeed has faced scrutiny from US authorities over suspicions it helped Chinese customers obtain advanced Nvidia chips that were subject to US export controls. The company has denied illegally diverting chips to China.
In a statement on Thursday, Megaspeed said it had cooperated with inspections by the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security and hired a leading US law firm to conduct a comprehensive inventory of its graphics processing units and independently verify its export-control compliance practices.
It said it welcomed government scrutiny and was committed to complying with US export-control laws.
Nvidia and the US Commerce Department did not respond to requests for comment.
Shares of Chinese AI companies fell sharply in Hong Kong on Thursday amid concerns that the controversy could lead to tighter US restrictions on access to advanced chips. Alibaba fell as much as 7.1%, while AI model developers Z.AI and MiniMax both dropped at least 7%.
Alice Huang had business dealings and investment ties with several leading Chinese technology companies, including Tencent and Alibaba, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Tencent said its computing procurement, leasing and operations complied with applicable laws and regulations, including export controls.
“We have no knowledge of, nor involvement in, any alleged unlawful activities referenced in these reports, nor do we have any business dealings or investment ties with the individuals concerned,” the company said.
Alibaba did not respond to a request for comment.
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The prospect of tougher enforcement has also fuelled demand for restricted Nvidia AI chips in China’s grey market, prompting traders and intermediaries to start stockpiling these processors, two of the people said.
They said buyers fear the controversy could prompt a broader US crackdown on smuggling of advanced chips and AI servers into China.
A Chinese university with deep ties to the People’s Liberation Army bought Nvidia’s powerful H200 AI chips last month despite being on a US export blacklist, procurement records show, highlighting gaps in Washington’s efforts to curb China’s access to advanced technology.
US prosecutors in March charged Super Micro Computer co-founder Yih-Shyan “Wally” Liaw and two others with conspiring to divert servers containing Nvidia chips to China through a Southeast Asia-based company.
Prosecutors said the company bought about $2.5 billion of servers from Super Micro between 2024 and 2025, and that a substantial portion was diverted to China. The defendants have not been convicted.
(Reporting by Reuters Staff; Editing by Eduardo Baptista, Lincoln Feast and Joe Bavier)
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