Nvidia employee detained by Taiwan in China chip smuggling probe

[HONG KONG] Taiwanese prosecutors have detained an Nvidia employee and searched the company’s offices as part of a widening probe into the alleged smuggling of artificial intelligence accelerators into China, according to people familiar with the matter. 

The move may be the first known instance of government authorities taking legal action against an employee of the chipmaker.

It also follows a slate of detentions in Taiwan that included employees of Super Micro Computer, an AI server reseller and a data centre operator.

Taiwan officials executed the first round of detentions in May, accusing three individuals of falsifying documents in order to export Nvidia AI chips to China in violation of US trade restrictions. 

Local investigators searched the home of the employee and his desk at Nvidia’s Taipei office on Friday (Jul 24), the people said.

Prosecutors later asked the court to allow them to detain the employee on allegations of forgery and breach of trust, a request that was granted, the people said.

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They asked not to be named as the identity of the man is not public information. 

Bloomberg News was unable to contact the Nvidia staffer, and representatives for the US company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. BLOOMBERG