U.S. authorities shut down smuggling ring involving Nvidia GPUs worth $160 million destined for China

The US has shut down a smuggling network that trafficked or attempted to traffic over $160 million in Nvidia AI chips to China, despite export bans. Two businessmen have been taken into custody, while a Houston-based company and its owner have pleaded guilty to chip smuggling. The operation, dubbed "Operation Gatekeeper," exposed efforts to funnel advanced AI chips to entities that could undermine US national security. Officials said the smugglers falsified shipping documents to hide the true destinations of the GPUs.