An empty office and an approved firm
According to The New York Times, the US Commerce Department lists New Matrix among the Chinese firms cleared to receive Nvidia's H200 AI chips. But at the address the paper visited, the company's offices are empty — described as "a hollow gray shell with wires dangling from the ceiling where lights should be."
Little information about the company
The report says New Matrix was created 17 months ago and only scant information about it can be found online. The paper could not find its entry in the building's company directory.
The due diligence question
The story raises concerns that neither the Commerce Department nor Nvidia are doing enough to vet Chinese firms cleared to handle the chips. H200s sit at the center of US export rules on chip sales to China.
Why it matters
US export controls aim to limit who receives advanced AI chips. The claim that an approved firm may not meaningfully exist raises questions about how well those controls work in practice.
