U.S. Probes Chinese AI Firms for Remote Chip Access

The United States Bureau of Industry and Security has launched a review into how Chinese artificial intelligence firms acquire and access restricted Nvidia Corporation hardware overseas. The investigation was triggered by the release of Moonshot AI's Kimi K3 model, which rivaled top American models, leading a White House official to allege the firm illegally acquired hardware through remote access via a party in Thailand.

While U.S. officials typically monitor the physical smuggling of chips, this review focuses on the legal use of remote access to computing power in third-party countries. This loophole has allowed firms such as Alibaba Group Holding Limited to access Nvidia chips in Malaysia through Singaporean shell companies and third-party firms like Megaspeed International Pte.

The Trump administration asserts that it is maintaining a rigorous export control regime to protect national and economic security. To address these gaps, the U.S. House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation granting the government clearer authority to curb remote access to overseas data centers. Despite this, some officials remain divided on whether to formally restrict cloud computing agreements.