Key Takeaways
- Upon arriving in Taipei on Saturday, Jensen Huang made a public statement calling on Super Micro Computer (SMCI) to strengthen its export compliance measures.
- Taiwanese authorities arrested three individuals accused of falsifying export documents while shipping Super Micro AI servers equipped with Nvidia chips to China.
- This Taiwan investigation comes after U.S. federal prosecutors indicted Super Micro’s co-founder and two associates in March for allegedly smuggling approximately $2.5 billion worth of Nvidia-powered servers to China.
- Huang disclosed that China represents a significant portion of Nvidia’s estimated $200 billion total addressable market for its forthcoming Vera CPU.
- Although H200 chips have received export licenses for China, zero units have reached Chinese buyers to date.
Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang touched down in Taipei on Saturday and immediately tackled the escalating scandal involving Super Micro Computer (SMCI) and illegal AI chip exports to China.
Addressing journalists at Songshan Airport, Huang emphasized that Nvidia maintains “rigorous” standards when briefing partners on U.S. trade restrictions. He expressed his expectation that Super Micro will “enhance and improve” its compliance framework to avoid future violations.
These remarks followed an announcement from Taiwan’s Keelung District Prosecutors’ Office that three suspects were detained earlier this week. The individuals allegedly filed false customs declarations while exporting Super Micro servers—containing cutting-edge Nvidia AI processors—to mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau.
Super Micro has not yet issued a public statement in response to media inquiries. Previously, the company affirmed its dedication to safeguarding advanced U.S. technology and pledged to bolster its worldwide trade compliance infrastructure.
This marks the second major export control controversy for Super Micro. Earlier this year in March, the U.S. Department of Justice brought charges against Super Micro co-founder Yih-Shyan “Wally” Liaw and two additional defendants for allegedly orchestrating a scheme to illegally export approximately $2.5 billion in Nvidia-equipped servers to China via shell corporations operating in Southeast Asia.
Liaw has entered a not guilty plea. Super Micro maintains that it is not a defendant in the case and is providing full cooperation to investigators.
While the Taiwan case operates independently from the U.S. federal charges, both investigations appear interconnected. Each case centers on the same suspected distribution channel—utilizing third-party intermediaries to funnel restricted Nvidia AI technology into Chinese markets, violating American export regulations.
A Bloomberg investigation published earlier this month identified a Thai company associated with Thailand’s national artificial intelligence initiative as potentially involved in rerouting Super Micro servers to China. That report listed Alibaba (BABA) among several suspected end users.
Nvidia’s Strategic Focus on the Chinese Market
Despite ongoing export compliance issues surrounding its technology, Huang confirmed that China continues to represent a critical component of Nvidia’s future revenue projections.
Speaking to reporters at the airport, Huang clarified that China is factored into the $200 billion total addressable market he announced for Nvidia’s next-generation Vera CPU during the company’s earnings presentation on May 20th.
Nvidia’s H200 processor has obtained official U.S. export authorization for China, with approximately ten Chinese companies approved as purchasers. Despite this clearance, not one H200 chip has been shipped to any Chinese entity.
Huang characterized the Chinese market as “very important” and “very large,” stating it “would be terrific” to serve Chinese customers. Nevertheless, recent discussions between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing this month failed to yield any progress on trade restrictions.
GTC Taipei and Computex Presentations
Huang’s visit to Taiwan precedes Nvidia’s GTC Taipei conference and his keynote address at Computex, scheduled for June 1st. Industry observers anticipate he will unveil comprehensive details about the software architecture powering Nvidia’s Vera Rubin platform.
He characterized the platform as “the largest product launch, probably in the history of Taiwan.” Each Vera Rubin NVL72 configuration incorporates nearly 2 million individual components and engages approximately 150 Taiwanese ecosystem collaborators.
According to current reports, all Super Micro shipments connected to the smuggling investigations remain suspended, while both American and Taiwanese authorities continue their active investigations.
