Nvidia has more than halved its Asian buyer list after creating a new “white list” of companies that passed tougher compliance checks to prevent chips from reaching China. The $5.1tn chipmaker intensified due diligence in Singapore, Malaysia and Japan, excluding over half of previous customers, though they can reapply.

The move follows pressure from Washington to close loopholes; Nvidia staff now visit data centres, verify contracts and interview end users, with the US Department of Commerce providing oversight. In March, US prosecutors charged a Supermicro co‑founder and employees with allegedly smuggling $2.5bn worth of chips to China via a southeast Asian pass‑through entity that became Supermicro’s largest customer, accounting for $99.7mn in revenue.

The crackdown has worsened an AI chip shortage in China, where Beijing blocks sales of Nvidia’s H200 and domestic output remains far below demand. Chinese tech executives report all domestic suppliers sold out. Nvidia says compliance is its highest priority; the Commerce Department declined comment.