Analysts Estimate Up to 1.5 Million Nvidia AI GPUs Smuggled to China Despite Export Controls

Analysts report that more than 1.5 gigawatts of export-banned Nvidia AI chips have been tracked to China, with smuggling estimates reaching 1.5 million GPUs. Tom's Hardware reports that some analysts also speculate the smuggling could be behind Jensen Huang's departure as Nvidia CEO, a link that remains unconfirmed. The figures come from analyst estimates rather than official government or company disclosures.

Why it matters: If the smuggling estimates hold, they show that export controls on AI accelerators are leaking at scale, which could drive tighter enforcement and compliance requirements for chip supply chains.