US let Nvidia sell chips to an empty office in China

The Verge reports that Nvidia and the US Commerce Department approved a Chinese firm, New Matrix, to receive the company’s H200 AI chips, despite what The New York Times found to be an absence of any meaningful corporate presence. Visiting the address listed for New Matrix, the Times described the office as “a hollow gray shell with wires dangling from the ceiling where lights should be.” Reporters could locate little evidence that the company operates in any functional capacity.

The case has drawn attention to the vetting process governing which Chinese entities may legally receive advanced American semiconductor hardware. Both Nvidia and Commerce are responsible for confirming that buyers meet the conditions attached to export licenses, yet New Matrix’s inclusion on the approved list suggests that confirmation did not extend to verifying the company’s physical existence or operations.

The H200 is among Nvidia’s higher-end AI chips, and its export to China is subject to federal restriction given the chips’ potential military and strategic applications. Coverage of the Times findings frames the episode as evidence of a gap in oversight, one that leaves open the question of where hardware licensed to a seemingly nonexistent recipient actually ends up.

Neither Nvidia nor the Commerce Department has offered a public accounting of how New Matrix was cleared, according to the available reporting.