The US government doesn’t want China to get ahead of it in semiconductor technology and AI. This is why there are several restrictions in place to prevent that. However, there have been some instances where chips get shipped to China , despite these restrictions. But the US government might have a plan, which is to embed trackers in AI chip shipments.

US to embed trackers in AI chip shipments

According to a Reuters report, US authorities have apparently placed trackers in AI chip shipments . These trackers are placed in chips that the government deems as advanced and have a high risk of being illegally diverted to China. This means that if and when these chips are diverted to China, the US government will know.

It will also help the US government build cases against individuals or companies that might have participated in these illegal diversions. There have been instances where individuals were caught smuggling high-end NVIDIA GPUs to China. The report claims these trackers have been found in shipments of servers from companies such as Dell and Super Micro. Both companies use chips made by NVIDIA and AMD.

So far, none of these companies has confirmed the report. Super Micro said it does not disclose its security practices. Dell, on the other hand, claims ignorance, saying it isn’t aware of these trackers. NVIDIA also asserted that it does not install secret tracking devices. AMD, on the other hand, declined to comment.

China’s chip restrictions

The US and China are in a trade war . This trade war has caused complications in terms of the advancement of technology and the economy. For instance, the Trump administration has slapped a 100% tariff on imported semiconductors . It has also placed restrictions that limit the export of technology to China.

This is designed to slow down China’s development of semiconductors and AI. An example would be how the US government has restricted the type of GPUs NVIDIA can send to China. An earlier Reuters report revealed that NVIDIA has plans to create a cheaper chip based on Blackwell for the Chinese market.