From Bloomberg, January 30:
- Nvidia says it ‘insists’ that customers comply with laws
- Singapore accounts for about 20% of Nvidia’s revenue
US officials are probing whether Chinese AI startup DeepSeek bought advanced Nvidia Corp. semiconductors through third parties in Singapore, circumventing US restrictions on sales of chips used for artificial intelligence tasks, people familiar with the matter said.
DeepSeek recently released a chatbot, called R1, that in some respects performs as well as comparable tools from the US, suggesting that China is further ahead in the AI race than previously believed. Some prominent engineers have marveled at R1’s capabilities, and DeepSeek has touted the tool’s low cost and efficiency, prompting rivals to speculate whether it was built on the back of Western technology.
Officials in the White House and Federal Bureau of Investigation are also trying to determine whether DeepSeek used intermediaries in the Southeast Asian nation to purchase Nvidia chips that the US has banned from sale to China, said the people, who requested anonymity to relay private conversations.
DeepSeek didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. An Nvidia spokesperson said in a statement that “we insist that our partners comply with all applicable laws, and if we receive any information to the contrary, act accordingly.” The company issued a statement on DeepSeek earlier this week that indicated it believes the Chinese company didn’t violate US restrictions.
An FBI spokesperson declined to comment, while a representative for the White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The Singapore embassy in Washington couldn’t be reached outside of office hours.
Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Commerce Department, suggested on Wednesday that DeepSeek evaded US export controls.
“Nvidia’s chips, which they bought tons of, and they found their ways around it, drive their DeepSeek model,” Lutnick, who would enforce semiconductor trade restrictions as the Commerce head, told senators in his confirmation hearing Wednesday. “It’s got to end. If they are going to compete with us, let them compete, but stop using our tools to compete with us. So I’m going to be very strong on that.”....
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Now Singapore is known as a pretty tech-savvy place but 20% of Nvidia's revenue flowing through the entrepôt seems like quite a bit.
