By TOI Tech Desk
Publication Date: 2025-11-17 08:58:00
Inside a windowless building in Jakarta, Indonesia, approximately 2,300 of Nvidia’s cutting-edge Blackwell chips are being prepared for use by a Chinese AI company—despite President Donald Trump’s explicit opposition to selling such technology to China. The complex transaction involved multiple countries and entities, yet appears to violate no US laws. A Wall Street Journal investigation has revealed how Chinese companies are accessing Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips despite US export restrictions, exposing significant gaps in America’s technology control strategy.
Four-step workaround exploits regulatory loopholes
The chips reached their destination through a carefully orchestrated chain. Nvidia first sold semiconductors to Aivres, a Silicon Valley-based company whose parent is one-third owned by Inspur—a Chinese tech firm blacklisted by the US government in 2023 for working on military supercomputing. However, current regulations don’t restrict Nvidia from selling to American subsidiaries like Aivres.Aivres then brokered a $100 million deal with Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, an Indonesian telecom provider, selling 32 server racks containing 72 Blackwell chips each. The arrangement was finalized only after securing Shanghai-based AI startup INF Tech as the end customer, according to people familiar with the matter…
