Nvidia Loophole Allows China to Bypass AI Chip Export Restrictions
Nvidia's advanced semiconductors are under U.S. export restrictions to China, but some Chinese firms have found ways around this by accessing their compute power via data centers in Southeast Asia.
According to a White House official, Moonshot AI used Nvidia's GB300 chips through a facility in Thailand for its new model released in July.
Cassia King, senior researcher on the Compute Policy team at the Institute for AI Policy and Strategy, explained that as long as Moonshot didn't directly buy or own the physical hardware, accessing compute through remote cloud providers was legal under U.S. export controls.
The Remote Access Security Act (RASA) is being proposed to plug this loophole by expanding U.S. export controls to include the remote cloud-based access of critical hardware and software.