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Gamers Nexus has a "movie" coming re: Nvidia GPU smuggling into China

Xebec

Well-known member
A few take-aways:

- Movie coming out August 15th
- Gamers Nexus spent over $100K traveling/researching/recording sources on GPU smuggling into China and the GPU black market
- The owner says he was detained for questioning by a government for an extended period of time
- It looks like multiple Chinese people in the semiconductor supply chain are on record indicating Nvidia is aware "blind eye but they know" of the smuggling
- A clip seems to show Gamers Nexus actually buying a GPU on the Chinese black market, or attempting to
- The movie will include the manufacturing of 48GB 4090s in China (the regular 4090s which were banned for export)
- This video looked into the conundrum of "chips that can't be sold in China, despite that the boards using these chips are made in China"

He is running a 'kickstarter' to back-fund the money he spent. Please note this message isn't to encourage spending money on his products -- I am posting this to share here as I think this video/movie release could have an impact on the semi industry..

This is going to be interesting:
 
- This video looked into the conundrum of "chips that can't be sold in China, despite that the boards using these chips are made in China"

Yes, USA never prohibited the physical importation of video cards, only "sale," with word sale being interpreted in the most wild traditions of the English common law.

Similarly, it seems that Intel's high end Xeon models are physically passing through China for packaging, and that only came to wider attention when clients were struck by delays during COVID.

I will say it again, non-enforcement of embargoes, and loopholes hidden in wording of the laws follow a long term policy pattern.

America pretended to fight USSR through the cold war, while arming it to the teeth with technology transfers, and machinery. Only in the very late cold war CoCoM sanctions truly came in force, and started to be enacted – Just years prior to USSR's poly-crisis, and collapse. It feels almost as if the crisis was precipitated by the collective realisation by the soviets that they were out of their luck once USA stopped playing games with them, and started to treat them seriously.
 
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Not hard to believe at all. Where there is demand supply will follow and there is no stopping it. Reference the drug trade wordwide.

GPU Smuggling to China: Who, What, Why?​

Criminal Case: ALX Solutions Smuggling Ring​

  • Loophole operation: Two Chinese nationals—Chuan Geng and Shiwei Yang, both age 28—were arrested for allegedly smuggling high-end Nvidia GPUs (like H100, B200, and RTX 4090) from the U.S. to China. They ran a California-based shell company called ALX Solutions, shipping chips via Singapore and Malaysia to obscure their true destination.Reuters+15PC Gamer+15SemiWiki+15

  • Evidence and shipments: Prosecutors tracked over 20 suspect shipments between October 2022 and July 2025. One notable incident involved a $1 million payment from a Chinese company in January 2024.Manufacturing Digital+5Tom's Hardware+5Department of Justice+5

  • Legal ramifications: The defendants face charges under the Export Control Reform Act, which carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison if convicted.Reddit+10PC Gamer+10New York Post+10

Broader Smuggling Scope​

  • A Financial Times investigation estimated that during a three-month stretch of strict U.S. export restrictions, approximately $1 billion worth of NVIDIA AI chips were smuggled into China. The smuggled hardware comprised cutting-edge models like B200, H100, and H200—often sold on the black market for around $489,000 each, around a 50% premium.PC Gamer+15PC Gamer+15The Times of India+15

  • Underground repair industry: In Shenzhen, repair shops clandestinely service these restricted GPUs—like the H100 and A100—repairing as many as 500 units per month, with repair costs ranging from $1,400 to $2,800 each. While these operations skirt legality, having banned chips serviced isn't itself illegal in China, leading firms to operate discreetly.Tom's Hardware+2Reuters+2

U.S. Countermeasures​

  • Due to the persistent smuggling (estimated over $1 billion worth of chips in just a few months), the White House is exploring new export controls, such as embedding tracking technology directly into AI chips (either software or hardware-based), to help detect unauthorized transfers—even detecting location or usage without traditional GPS.The Washington Post+13Tom's Hardware+13AInvest+13

  • Nvidia itself strongly denies malfeasance, stating that smuggled products receive no official support, services, or updates—and that they adhere strictly to export regulation compliance.The Times of India+3Manufacturing Digital+3Reuters+3
 
America pretended to fight USSR through the cold war, while arming it to the teeth with technology transfers, and machinery. Only in the very late cold war CoCoM sanctions truly came in force, and started to be enacted – Just years prior to USSR's poly-crisis, and collapse. It feels almost as if the crisis was precipitated by the collective realisation by the soviets that they were out of their luck once USA stopped playing games with them, and started to treat them seriously.

I would like to read a little more about this, what kind of military technology did the US transfer to the USSR during the cold war?
 
There used to be fairly open trade relations with the Soviets until the Berlin blockade. But they really started turning the screws when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan back when Carter was president.

I would not say the Soviets were hopelessly behind technologically.

In jet engines and fighter aircraft they were pretty much on par, maybe with a lag of 10 years in transport aircraft.
In the nuclear power sector their reactor technology was on par, and in enrichment technology they were actually ahead of the West and the Russians still are.

It was in semiconductors the Soviets were the most behind. They were still using contact lithography to the end. They did not have something like the Micralign. So their yields were horrible. This meant while some relatively advanced chips could be made it would be too expensive to produce in large numbers.
 
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