Story
September 7, 2026
Inspur’s U.S. Chip Ban May Have Been Undone by a Silicon Valley Loophole
Washington says its export-control regime is built to protect national security, while investigators and industry analysts see a glaring gap: a blacklisted Chinese company’s U.S. affiliate appears to have remained at the center of a vast AI hardware network.
In 2020, the United States put Chinese server maker Inspur on a list of companies with alleged military links. Three years later, the Biden administration added Inspur Group to the Entity List, saying it sought U.S. technology for military supercomputers and requiring special licences for American shipments.1
The restriction was aimed at one of China’s biggest server manufacturers, but it was narrowly drawn. Soon after the March 2023 designation, the Inspur sign at a Silicon Valley office was replaced by Aivres, a newly formed U.S. subsidiary. The Entity List applied to named companies and addresses, and did not initially cover subsidiaries — leaving room for suppliers to deal with affiliated businesses instead.1
From April 2024 through February 2026, Aivres exported at least $5.6 billion in advanced U.S. technology to Southeast Asia, including more than $3 billion in systems equipped with Nvidia’s Blackwell chips, according to trade-record analysis reviewed by The New York Times. The shipments went to data centers and technology companies serving Chinese giants including Alibaba and ByteDance; other servers moved through Malaysia to China-based Maginfra, a state-owned company whose personnel and location show apparent links to Inspur.1
Federal officials have begun investigating Aivres, though the status of that inquiry is unclear. The companies named in the reporting — including Inspur, Aivres, Maginfra, Alibaba and ByteDance — did not respond, while Megaspeed, another recipient, declined comment.1
Nvidia rejects any suggestion it endorses diversion, saying it sells through reputable partners that “work with us to ensure all sales comply with U.S. export control regulations.” It also argues the business returns “tens of billions of dollars and high-paying jobs” to the United States.1
The White House says the Trump administration has imposed the toughest modern export controls. But SemiAnalysis analyst Jordan Nanos, citing shared servers, staff and offices between Aivres and its parent, frames the dispute more bluntly: “Are they trying to block this company or not?”1