Key Takeaways
Powered by lumidawealth.com
A Shanghai AI startup, INF Tech, is accessing Nvidia’s top Blackwell chips through an Indonesian data center—despite U.S. policy aimed at cutting China off from frontier AI hardware.
The pathway follows a cross-border chain: Nvidia → U.S.-based Aivres (linked to blacklisted Inspur) → Indonesian telecom Indosat → Chinese AI customer INF Tech.
The arrangement appears compliant with Trump-era export controls but exposes a major gap that allows Chinese firms to rent offshore compute instead of importing chips.
INF says it will use the compute for financial and health-science AI, but U.S. national-security officials say such commercial work can ultimately support China’s military under civil–military fusion.
A New Channel for China to Tap Nvidia’s AI Power
The U.S. has spent three years trying to choke off China’s access to Nvidia’s cutting-edge AI chips. Yet inside a heavily fortified data center in Jakarta, roughly 2,300 Nvidia Blackwell chips are being installed to serve a Shanghai-based AI company, INF Tech.
A Wall Street Journal investigation traced the flow of chips from California to Indonesia and then—via remote access—to China, revealing a structured workaround that honors the letter of U.S. export rules while undermining their strategic intent.
How Nvidia Hardware Reached Jakarta
Nvidia does not sell its chips directly to every global customer. Instead, it supplies server partners—including Silicon Valley–based Aivres. Aivres’ parent company is partly owned by Inspur, a Chinese firm on the U.S. national-security entity list for its role in military supercomputing.
U.S. controls bar Nvidia from doing business with Inspur or certain subsidiaries. But Aivres, incorporated in the United States, is not covered by that ban. It remains a close Nvidia collaborator and even co-sponsored Nvidia’s marquee event this year.
Using Aivres as a server integrator, Indonesian telecom operator Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison purchased 32 Nvidia GB200 server racks for about $100 million, according to people familiar with the transaction. Each rack contains 72 Blackwell chips—placing nearly 2,300 advanced processors inside a single Indonesian facility.
Indosat’s AI Cloud Business and a Chinese Anchor Tenant
Indosat only moved forward after securing a major client. Aivres helped line up Shanghai-based INF Tech, an AI startup founded by Qi Yuan, an MIT-trained machine-learning expert and Fudan University professor.
INF Tech signed for remote access to the Blackwell cluster through Indosat’s cloud platform. Representatives from Fudan University participated in discussions, according to sources, though INF ultimately executed the agreement.
Indosat says INF will not touch the chips physically. All access is remote and governed by Indonesian regulations.
What the Compute Will Be Used For
Once fully deployed, the Blackwell cluster is expected to train models for financial analytics, life sciences, and drug discovery—areas where high-performance compute accelerates development cycles.
INF describes itself as focused on commercial applications and says it conducts no military-related work.
However, U.S. national-security analysts argue that commercial AI research in China is inseparable from potential military use, citing Beijing’s policy of integrating civilian and defense innovation.
Why This Appears Legal—and Why It Worries U.S. Officials
Under current Trump-era export rules, selling advanced chips to a U.S. company (Aivres), which then sells servers to an Indonesian telecom operator, is permissible. Renting compute to a Chinese client in Indonesia is also not restricted, so long as the work does not support military intelligence or weapons systems.
But the arrangement highlights a key loophole:
China doesn’t need to import Nvidia chips if it can rent Nvidia compute abroad.
This offshore-rental model has also appeared in Singapore, Australia, and Malaysia—sometimes complemented by moving data out of China via encrypted drives carried in suitcases.
A Rule That Would Have Tightened Controls Was Never Enforced
In its final months, the Biden administration drafted a rule to scrutinize advanced-chip transactions in “third countries” like Indonesia—places outside the tight U.S. alliance network.
Had that rule been enforced, deals like the Indosat–Aivres–INF chain would have required official review of:
- the end customer
- the purpose of compute
- the exporter’s ownership and national-security ties
The Trump administration opted not to implement the rule, leaving compliance largely to companies’ internal vetting.
Nvidia’s Argument: Restricting Access Helps China’s Competitors
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has warned that cutting off China entirely pushes Chinese companies to accelerate domestic alternatives. Nvidia and its allies argue the U.S. should let downgraded chips flow globally to keep customers tied to American ecosystems.
Critics counter that offshore compute deals are already effectively giving Chinese firms access to technology Washington intended to block.
