The US technology publication The Information reported on the rule on Wednesday 11 November, citing two sources. The rule could be announced as early as this month, according to the report as summarised by Investing.com. However, other agencies are still reviewing it, and it is not final.

The US has already restricted direct exports of the most advanced AI chips to China. Chinese companies have nonetheless been able to rent Nvidia GPU computing from data centres in Singapore and Malaysia, for example, and train models without bringing the chips into China. The arrangement is legal because the Trump administration is not applying the Biden-era AI Diffusion rule, the financial publication 24/7 Wall St. reported. Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast said there was reportedly nothing illegal about it.

South Korea’s AI Times, citing The Information, reported that exports of Nvidia’s Blackwell chips and newer generations would require a licence for seven countries: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil, Norway and South Africa. Data centres in these countries would have to tell the Commerce Department who receives the chips and what they are used for. Data centres run by US companies would not need a licence if they block remote access from China and other countries under a US arms embargo. They would still have to report customer details and the amount of computing capacity.

Germany’s heise, citing the same report, gave a different account: Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand would already be on the list of countries requiring a licence. Norway, Brazil and South Africa could be added.

Chinese companies try to reserve capacity in advance

Reuters reported on 12 November, citing three sources, that Chinese cloud providers and AI labs are trying to reserve Nvidia chip capacity outside China. One large cloud company has considered making advance reservations, and some companies have asked data centres about reservations, Le Monde Informatique and AI Times reported, summarising the Reuters story. Smaller AI developers are considering approaching companies in South-East Asia that rent out GPU capacity. AI Times said neither the deals nor their size had been confirmed.

Two of Reuters’ sources also said brokers are building up stocks of export-restricted Nvidia chips on China’s grey market, Le Monde Informatique reported.

The Remote Access Security Act adds to the concern. The bill would give the Commerce Department power to regulate the use of export-restricted technology through cloud services. The House of Representatives passed it in January by 369 votes to 22, and it awaits consideration in the Senate. Nvidia said in July that the law could significantly affect its business, AI Times reported. Le Monde Informatique noted that no general ban on remote access is yet in force.

Nvidia leadership crisis in the background

Nvidia announced on 12 November that chief executive Jensen Huang had resigned with immediate effect. Chief financial officer Colette Kress is serving as interim chief executive. Le Monde Informatique reported that Huang admitted being unfaithful to his wife, and that an internal investigation began after allegations surfaced that the other party, Alice Huang, a former executive of Singapore-based Megaspeed, was linked to Chinese intelligence. Reuters has not been able to verify the allegations, and Beijing denies them.

The Information assessed that the rule may signal Nvidia’s weakened influence in Washington, as the company has opposed tighter regulation of foreign data centres, AI Times reported.