Singapore Fraud Case Involving Servers May Include Nvidia Chips, Minister Says
Servers used in a Singapore fraud case may have contained Nvidia's advanced chips, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam said on Monday. The servers, supplied by U.S. firms, were allegedly transferred from Singapore to Malaysia.
Three men, including a Chinese national, were charged with fraud last week. Local media linked the case to the transfer of Nvidia's AI chips to Chinese artificial intelligence firm DeepSeek.
Shanmugam said the servers were supplied by Dell Technologies and Super Micro Computer to Singapore-based companies before being sent to Malaysia. Authorities are investigating whether Malaysia was the final destination.
Singapore has asked U.S. authorities if the servers contained U.S. export-controlled items and has expressed willingness to cooperate in any joint investigation.
The United States is investigating whether DeepSeek has been using U.S. chips that are restricted from export to China. In January, DeepSeek's AI model gained attention for its performance.
Last year, Reuters reported that Chinese universities and research institutes obtained Nvidia's advanced AI chips embedded in server products made by Dell, Super Micro, and Taiwan's Gigabyte Technology.
The Singapore case is part of a broader police investigation into 22 individuals and companies suspected of false representation. Authorities are monitoring concerns about organised AI chip smuggling to China.
Singapore is Nvidia's second-largest market after the United States, accounting for 18% of its total revenue in the latest fiscal year. However, actual shipments to Singapore contributed less than 2% of total revenue, as customers use the country as a centre for invoicing sales to other nations.
Some Western AI entrepreneurs, including Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang, have claimed that DeepSeek possesses as many as 50,000 high-end Nvidia chips that are banned for export to China. Wang has not provided evidence for this claim.
DeepSeek has not responded to Wang’s allegations. The company has stated that it used Nvidia's H800 chips, which it could have legally purchased in 2023, and disclosed a supercomputing AI cluster of Nvidia A100 chips.
Nvidia, DeepSeek, Super Micro, and Dell have not responded to requests for comment.
Singapore's fraud case may involve Nvidia chips, Minister K. Shanmugam said.
Servers were supplied by Dell and Super Micro before being sent to Malaysia.
Authorities are investigating possible AI chip smuggling to China.
Source: REUTERS