Malaysia has agreed to streamline the sales of Nvidia Corporation’s high-end semiconductors after a request from the United States. The United States urged Malaysia not to allow the company’s chips, especially the one used for AI, not to reach china. The note is coming after concerns that the shipments could violate US export controls on advanced technologies.
Minister for Investment, Trade, and Industry Zafrul Abdul Aziz mentioned that the United States has urged Malaysia to pay attention to the end-users of its Nvidia chips. “They want us to make sure that servers end up in the data centers that they’re supposed to and not suddenly move to another ship,” the Minister. He urged the Malaysian government to ensure that these servers containing Nvidia chips should be moved to the right data centers.
The probe in Singapore, which has led to authorities investigating several consignments tagged as Nvidia chips, is presently ongoing. The probe has seen three people charged for conspiracy to deceive companies like Dell and Super Micro Computers about the Dina users of the hardware.
The authorities mentioned that the servers that may contain prohibited Nvidia chips from being sold in China may have passed through Malaysia illegally. However, Malaysian authorities have mentioned that they have not found any wrongdoing, but they are coordinating efforts with US and Singaporean authorities to look into the issue.
Malaysia to cooperate with other countries as tensions grow over semiconductors
The probe into the chip shipments is also an extension of the previous conflict between the United States and Asia for more innovation in the semiconductor industry. The United States has been trying to limit China’s access to these technologies, with the country noting that it may give its military an edge.
As a result of this, the United States has decided to control the exports of these chips and equipment to make these countries impose strict regulations on them. To stop the leak in export control, the United States has also put pressure on other areas, including Southeast Asia and the Middle East, believing that they act as the middlemen moving these chips to China. The company has also faced criticism because its physical shipment to Singapore has been low, despite the area being responsible for most of its revenue.
The United States is also investigating if DeepSeek and other Chinese AI used intermediaries in Singapore to source the chips. Meanwhile, lawmakers have raised the issue, noting that the company makes a ridiculously high revenue in Singapore. This is because its shipment to the country is relatively low. However, Nvidia and Singapore have clarified that the area is a billing hub, noting that only a small amount of shipments are sent to the area. Meanwhile, Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, announced that the company is opening a quantum computing lab in Boston.