New turn in Chip Security Act as Nvidia tells that it can find chips
Nvidia told a US lawmaker in technical talks that chip location checks are possible, but it gave no written proof.
The Chip Security Act makes companies show where top AI chips are, to stop smuggling to China. In March 2026, an industry group with Nvidia as a member called the rules “potentially infeasible”.
Nvidia representatives told Bill Foster, a US House Democrat and cosponsor of the Chip Security Act, that its anti-smuggling measures are possible to do. Foster told MIT Technology Review this on Thursday, and the answer was “yeah, of course we can do this”. Nvidia gave nothing in writing and did not reply to the report.
How it works
The bill gives 3 procedures to find chips: inspections of sites, statements by companies, or ping-based location. With ping, the chip sends its location when it comes online. It is not easy to defeat.
The proof
Nvidia gave no written proof. In December 2025, Nvidia announced Fleet Intelligence, a tool that can show which country chips are in. Nvidia did not tell if it can stop smuggling. In September, a research center found that ping is the most cost-effective alternative.
What is not known
Foster did not ask why Nvidia does not do this by selection. Location data only shows where chips are. It cannot stop them. Foster plans a bill with more limits in the new year. A chip must have a correct license before it can connect.
Insight: Nvidia said in private what its trade group denied in public
In March 2026, the Semiconductor Industry Association, with Nvidia as a member, called the rules “new, untested”. Nvidia told a different message in private. Its chief also admitted an affair with a woman of a firm that is in a smuggling inquiry. This looks like two messages for two groups, and the scandal makes the message to the public hard to keep. Next, monitor for location rules, then license checks.
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