US probes Chinese AI firms' Nvidia access, targeting overseas computing rentals

The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is investigating how Chinese AI companies access high-end Nvidia chips through overseas channels.

The inquiry focuses on legal methods such as renting computing capacity from foreign data centers to train artificial intelligence models.

This probe follows a June 2026 regulatory action that closed loopholes allowing chip sales to foreign subsidiaries of Chinese firms.

Washington officials signal growing concern that existing export controls are insufficient to prevent China from developing advanced AI using U.S. technology.