Two Chinese Nationals Face U.S. Charges Over Illegal Export of Nvidia AI Chips to China
Two Chinese nationals have been charged in the United States for allegedly orchestrating the illegal export of advanced Nvidia AI chips worth millions of dollars to China over a three-year period.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Tuesday that the individuals – Chuan Geng and Shiwei Yang – were involved in running a California-based company, ALX Solutions, which shipped restricted technology overseas without the required government licenses.
According to court documents, the company sent high-performance computing chips, including Nvidia’s H100 and GeForce RTX 4090 graphics processing units (GPUs), to addresses in Singapore and Malaysia between October 2022 and July 2025. Authorities believe these countries were used as stopovers to disguise the chips’ final destination: China.
Geng, a U.S. permanent resident, managed ALX’s finances, while Yang, who had overstayed her visa, served as the company’s secretary. The company had just three known employees, and all were said to be responsible for key decisions and shipment coordination. The DOJ stated that ALX received payments for its exports from firms based in China and Hong Kong – not from the shipping intermediaries in Southeast Asia. In one case, a China-based company paid ALX $1 million in January 2024.
In December 2024, U.S. Customs flagged a shipment from ALX containing export-controlled chips, including the high-end Nvidia H100s. Prosecutors allege that the company falsely claimed the chips were intended for a client in Singapore, but U.S. officials were unable to verify the existence of the recipient or the delivery.
The DOJ added that neither Geng, Yang, nor ALX Solutions applied for an export license from the U.S. Department of Commerce, a legal requirement for sending such restricted items overseas.
Nvidia, the chip manufacturer at the centre of the case, said it works with vetted partners to ensure compliance with U.S. export regulations. A company spokesperson stressed that “diverted products would receive no service, support, or updates.”
Super Micro Computer, a supplier of Nvidia chips named in the court filings, stated that it adheres to all U.S. export laws but declined to comment further on the ongoing legal matter.
Yang was arrested over the weekend, while Geng turned himself in to U.S. authorities. Both appeared in a federal court in Los Angeles on Monday. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison.
The case underscores ongoing U.S. efforts to tighten control over advanced technology exports to China, particularly in areas like artificial intelligence and high-performance computing.
