Nvidia is testing new location-verification software designed to determine where its AI chips are operating, following growing speculation that advanced hardware may be entering China despite U.S. export restrictions. According to reports, the system measures computing performance and network latency between servers to infer a chip’s geographic position. The capability will be optional for customers and is expected to debut with Nvidia’s next-generation Blackwell processors.
The move follows allegations that China’s DeepSeek AI models were trained using smuggled Blackwell chips. Nvidia has denied seeing any evidence of such activity but said it investigates all credible tips.
The development comes shortly after U.S. regulators granted approval for Nvidia to sell older H200 chips to select Chinese customers, a decision that does not apply to the more advanced Blackwell line.
