Singaporean authorities have charged three men with fraud in a case that local media has linked to the transfer of advanced NVIDIA chips from the country to the Chinese AI startup DeepSeek.
The United States is investigating whether DeepSeek, whose AI model’s performance caused a stir in the tech world in January, is using American chips that are prohibited from being shipped to China, according to Reuters.
The Singapore case is part of a broader investigation by the police involving 22 individuals and companies suspected of providing false information, amid concerns that organized smuggling of AI chips to China from countries like Singapore has been identified.
Local channel “News Asia” reported that it understood the issues were related to the alleged transfer of NVIDIA chips from Singapore for use by DeepSeek, without specifying the source.
The case involved two Singaporean citizens and a third Chinese national. The two Singaporean men were charged with criminal conspiracy to commit fraud against a server supplier in 2024.
If convicted, the two men could face penalties of up to 20 years in prison, a fine, or both.
Singapore is NVIDIA’s second-largest market after the United States, accounting for 18% of the company’s total revenue in its latest fiscal year, according to a recent disclosure by the company.