Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) saw its shares rise after the Financial Times revealed about $1 billion of its B200 AI chips slipped through export controls into China. The stock rose 1% to $900, suggesting investors aren’t spooked by the black?market buzz.
According to the FT report, those banned processors were funneled through brokers into a lucrative Chinese underground market for data?center gear, bypassing the April curbs on H200 and B200 exports.
Nvidia told Reuters it has no evidence of involvement and only supports authorized products, warning that smuggled chips tend to run hot and break down. The news comes as the White House reversed some H200 restrictions under its new AI Action Plan and promised billions in U.S. chip investments.
Meanwhile Chinese distributors keep hawking B200s to local AI operators even as Nvidia pledges to ramp up U.S. fabs and sustain its China footprint.
Morgan Stanley analysts note that black?market volumes are tiny next to Nvidia’s roughly 12,000?unit quarterly shipments, so earnings risk appears minimal.
Still, security experts caution that this shadow trade could invite stronger enforcement and ramp up U.S.?China tech tensions.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
