BEIJING - Chinese artificial intelligence companies are moving to rent Nvidia-powered computing capacity at data centers located outside China, according to three people familiar with the matter, amid concern that a scandal involving the US chipmaker's chief executive, Jensen Huang, could prompt Washington to further restrict their remote access to advanced processors.
The previously unreported discussions underscore a broader anxiety among Chinese technology firms that a key gap in US export controls may be closing. Washington, seeking to preserve US dominance in the critical semiconductor sector, restricts exports to China of Nvidia's most advanced AI chips. However, Chinese companies can still access such processors remotely by renting computing power at overseas data centers.
A major Chinese cloud provider has discussed internally whether to lock in overseas Nvidia chip capacity, while some companies have contacted data-center operators about reserving it, the people said. The people declined to be identified, or to identify the cloud provider, because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Smaller AI labs are considering similar steps, including approaching major providers of rented computing power in Southeast Asia, according to two of the people.
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.
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. Reuters could not independently verify that allegation, which China has denied.
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 and Alibaba did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Singapore business filings show that Alibaba subsidiary Apex Enterprise Solutions provided financing to Speedmatrix, a Malaysian company linked to Megaspeed, according to records reviewed by Reuters.
Megaspeed has faced scrutiny over suspicions that it helped Chinese customers gain access to advanced Nvidia chips subject to US export controls. The company has denied illegally diverting chips to China. Nvidia, Megaspeed and the US Commerce Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Grey-Market Buying
The prospect of tougher enforcement has also fueled 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.