It's no secret that NVIDIA's high-powered AI processor chips are being smuggled into China via Singapore and Johor. This poses an issue for NVIDIA, which does not want to be subject to action by the United States. Now, reports have emerged that NVIDIA is reportedly testing new software that allows them to track the location of the chips while they are operating.
A report from Reuters states that NVIDIA is conducting pilot tests of location tracking software that will be used on Blackwell generation chips only. This software uses telemetry data and measures network latency between the chip and NVIDIA servers. By calculating the time it takes for data to be sent and received, the system can estimate a rough location in the data center.
For now, this feature is said to be installed by customers voluntarily for the purpose of collecting telemetry and chip performance. NVIDIA insists that it is not a malicious application and a backdoor as China fears. This week they were given the green light to sell H200 chips to China by the United States with a 25% cut of the sale to be taken by the government.