Jensen Huang scandal could spur tighter US scrutiny of AI cloud providers in Southeast Asia: Analysts

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The alleged Chinese spy scandal involving Nvidia’s CEO could lead to tougher enforcement of artificial intelligence chip export restrictions and create opportunities for rival…

The alleged Chinese spy scandal involving Nvidia’s CEO could lead to tougher enforcement of artificial intelligence chip export restrictions and create opportunities for rival chipmakers, analysts tell CNA.

Allegations that a woman linked to Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang was a Chinese spy could lead to tighter enforcement of United States export restrictions on advanced artificial intelligence chips, with cloud computing providers in Southeast Asia potentially facing greater scrutiny.

Rival chipmakers could also benefit from the fallout, even as demand for Nvidia's products remains strong, analysts told CNA.

The allegations emerged following reports that Huang had an affair with Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman and former executive of Singapore-based cloud computing firm Megaspeed, who is said to have links to Beijing's intelligence services.

Nvidia's board is investigating whether Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation, but the company says it has no reason to believe that US national security or its trade secrets were compromised.

Megaspeed, an Nvidia customer, has also come under scrutiny over suspicions that it helped Chinese companies obtain advanced AI chips restricted from export to China. Singapore police are investigating the company over suspected breaches of domestic laws.

The US and China are at odds over critical technologies, with Washington restricting China's access to advanced semiconductors and Beijing imposing export controls on rare earths and other minerals used in industries such as electric vehicles.

Alex Capri, senior lecturer at the National University of Singapore Business School, described cloud computing services as a long-standing loophole in US chip export controls.

He said these services allow companies around the world to rent computing power without directly purchasing advanced chips, and expects Washington to focus more closely on providers known as neocloud companies.

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