❗️Chip smuggling scandal hits AI supply chain

Yih-Shyan “Wally” Liaw, co-founder of Super Micro Computer, has been arrested over an alleged multi-billion-dollar scheme involving illegal exports of Nvidia hardware to China.

What allegedly happened:

• Accused of orchestrating the smuggling of $2.5B worth of Nvidia servers
• Used a Southeast Asian shell company to reroute shipments to Chinese buyers
• $510M in hardware moved in just THREE WEEKS (spring 2025)
• Built thousands of “dummy” servers to bypass U.S. export controls

How it was uncovered:

• Surveillance reportedly caught serial numbe