Two Chinese nationals arrested for illegally shipping millions in Nvidia AI chips to China
Two Chinese nationals have been charged with smuggling powerful AI chips from the US to China without licenses, the DOJ revealed Tuesday.
The California-based company ALX Solutions, run by Chuan Geng and Shiwei Yang, allegedly exported Nvidia’s H100 GPUs and GeForce RTX 4090s over the past three years. These chips are tightly controlled by US export laws aimed at blocking China’s access to cutting-edge tech. 
Court docs show shipments went through Singapore and Malaysia to hide the true destination. ALX never received payment from transit firms—they were paid by firms in Hong Kong and China, including a $1 million transfer in January 2024.
US customs caught a shipment last December. Neither ALX nor its executives applied for a Commerce Department license. One invoice declared chips to a fake Singapore customer. US officers could not verify delivery and found the named company didn’t exist.
ALX had three employees: Geng handled finances, Yang acted as secretary, and a CEO was unnamed. Geng surrendered after Yang’s arrest last Saturday. Both appeared in LA federal court Monday and face up to 20 years if convicted.
Nvidia stressed it sells only to partners who comply with export rules.
“Smuggling its chips is a nonstarter,” an Nvidia spokesperson said.
“Nvidia sells products to well-known partners who help to ensure that all sales comply with US export control rules.”
“Even relatively small exporters and shipments are subject to thorough review and scrutiny, and any diverted products would have no service, support or updates.”
Super Micro Computer, a supplier of Nvidia chips named in court documents, declined detailed comment but said it “is firmly committed to compliance with all US export control regulations” and would cooperate with authorities.
ALX Solutions has no public website. A related cloud computing site claims to be its subsidiary. Legal reps for Geng and Yang were not immediately available.
Read the DOJ announcement for full details.
