U.S. places tracking devices in AI chip shipments to prevent China diversion - report

Published 13/08/2025, 09:28
U.S. places tracking devices in AI chip shipments to prevent China diversion - report

Investing.com -- U.S. authorities have been secretly placing location tracking devices in select shipments of advanced chips to detect illegal diversion to China, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing sources with direct knowledge of the law enforcement tactic.

The tracking measures target only specific shipments under investigation that are considered high risk for export control violations, and aim to ensure AI chips don’t reach destinations under U.S. export restrictions.

The trackers help authorities build cases against individuals and companies profiting from export control violations, Reuters reported, citing sources.

Five industry sources involved in the AI server supply chain confirmed awareness of these trackers in shipments from manufacturers including Dell (NYSE:DELL) and Super Micro, which contain chips from Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and AMD (NASDAQ:AMD), the report said.

These sources indicated the tracking devices are typically concealed in the packaging of server shipments.

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