nvidia gpus could face remote shutdown under new us bill

2025-05-19 nvidia

Washington, Monday, 19 May 2025.
a new bill in the united states could require nvidia to implement location tracking and remote shutdown capabilities in its high-end ai gpus. the “chip security act” aims to prevent these advanced chips from reaching specific countries, particularly china. within 180 days, nvidia may need to modify its gpu architecture to comply. if a gpu sold to singapore ends up in china, nvidia would be forced to remotely disable it and report the incident.

chip security act details

The proposed Chip Security Act is championed by U.S. Representatives Bill Huizenga of Michigan and Bill Foster of Illinois [1]. Foster, a former particle physicist and computer chip designer, emphasized the importance of preventing high-end GPUs from being smuggled into China [1]. He stated that the illicit transfer of advanced AI chips to China poses a significant threat to U.S. national security, necessitating congressional action [1]. The bill mandates that exporters must prevent the activation of chips found to be rerouted, misused, or altered, and they must report such instances to the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) [1].

nvidia’s response and market impact

Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, addressed concerns about chip diversion, stating that it is difficult to smuggle Nvidia’s large AI systems into China [9]. He highlighted the opening of trade for Nvidia’s hardware following a U.S. delegation to the Middle East [9]. Huang also acknowledged that losing access to China’s AI market would be a significant loss for Nvidia [9]. China’s AI market is projected to reach $50 billion in the next two to three years [9]. These restrictions introduce uncertainty into China’s AI investment landscape [9].

broader implications of export controls

The U.S. Commerce Department is tightening export controls, particularly targeting Huawei’s Ascend chips, due to concerns about the use of American technology [8]. The BIS believes these chips were developed or produced in violation of U.S. export controls [8]. China views these actions as a protectionist attempt to suppress its tech industry and is investing in domestic chip production to reduce reliance on U.S. technology [8]. These restrictions could disrupt supply chains and impede China’s AI ambitions, while also increasing scrutiny and compliance burdens [8].

computex and future strategies

Global semiconductor giants are set to converge at Taiwan’s Computex tech expo to showcase advancements in the AI-dominated industry [6]. Jensen Huang is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech, unveiling new collaborations, projects, technologies, and initiatives [6]. TSMC plans to increase its investment in the U.S. by an additional $100 billion, supplementing the existing $65 billion commitment [6]. Taiwan aims to mitigate potential U.S. tariffs by increasing investments in the U.S. [6]. The period between 2025 and 2026 is considered crucial for transitioning AI model training into profitable applications [6].

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