The US cleared Chinese firms to handle Nvidia's H200 chips, including one whose listed office was empty, The New York Times reports

The US Commerce Department approved Chinese companies to buy or handle Nvidia's H200 chips even though some appear to have no working offices, The New York Times reported on 7 November, according to The Jerusalem Post. TechCrunch also relays the Times report, describing the chips as advanced Nvidia chips.

One licensee is New Matrix. Its registered office outside Beijing appeared vacant when Times reporters visited, and TechCrunch writes that reporters found only “a hollow gray shell”. According to the Post's account of the Times story, New Matrix's owners have connections to Wise Road, a Chinese private equity fund the US put on its trade blacklist in 2024, and two analysts told the Times they believed New Matrix could be a front for companies associated with that fund.

The Commerce Department has reportedly approved about two dozen Chinese companies to buy or handle the processors, among them Baidu, BYD and Tesla Shanghai, the Post wrote. The Post also says the Times did not establish that any approved processors had been diverted to China's military.

Nvidia spokesman John Rizzo said “it makes no sense for the Chinese military to depend on American technology”, the Post reported. Neither article says that New Matrix has received any chips. The Switchboard ran on 6 November Reuters' report that about 600,000 H200 chips sit in Hong Kong because Beijing has not approved large-scale imports.

• Reported Times reporters found New Matrix's listed office empty, “a hollow gray shell”, TechCrunch writes. TechCrunch, citing The New York Times
• Reported About two dozen Chinese companies were approved; New Matrix's owners are linked to Wise Road, blacklisted in 2024; the Times did not establish any diversion to the military. The Jerusalem Post, citing The New York Times
• Claimed Nvidia says it makes no sense for the Chinese military to depend on American technology. The Jerusalem Post