Two Chinese nationals in California have been arrested for allegedly illegally shipping Nvidia AI chips to China. According to the US Justice Department, Chuan Geng and Shiwei Yang, both 28 years old, shipped advanced chips and other technology from October 2022 to July 2025 without a license from the US Commerce Department.
According to the complaint, their company ALX Solutions, based in El Monte, was established in 2022, following strict export controls by the US to curb the rapid modernization of China's military. ALX has more than 20 shipments to Singapore and Malaysia, which are often used as transit points for illegal products.
ALX was found to have received a payment of ₱58 million from a China-based company in January 2024, and other payments from Hong Kong and China. Nvidia H100 chips, which are used to train large language models, were the main ones being smuggled.
According to records, from August 2023 to July 2024, ALX purchased more than 200 Nvidia H100 chips from a server maker in California. An invoice in 2023 listed the amount at ₱1.68 billion, and they declared the customer to be from Singapore, but the chips were not traced there.
According to Nvidia, they strictly follow export rules and do not provide support or updates for diverted products. The suspects have appeared in court in Los Angeles. Geng has posted bail of ₱14.6 million, while Yang is scheduled to have a detention hearing on August 12.
