Nvidia halves Asia buyer list in China chip crackdown

What happened

Nvidia has more than halved its approved Asian customer list after introducing a 'white list' requiring enhanced compliance checks, according to a Financial Times report from July 14, 2026.

Context and impact

The move follows a series of smuggling cases. In March 2026, US prosecutors charged a Supermicro co-founder and two employees over an alleged $2.5 billion scheme to smuggle Nvidia chips to China via a Southeast Asian proxy. Nvidia is now sending staff to customer data centers and interviewing end users before granting purchase approval.

Details

• 'White list' applies to Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan
• Hardest hit: neo-cloud customers (companies renting out compute to end users)
• Nvidia sends compliance teams directly to customer data centers
• Excluded firms can reapply after making required changes
• Context: US export controls on H100/H200/B200 chips for China
• Goal: prevent chip diversion to China through third countries in Asia