Nvidia fallout throws spotlight on Southeast Asia’s AI boom
Southeast Asia’s chip and data centre industries expect greater scrutiny after news of former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s affair with a suspected Chinese spy put the spotlight on Singapore and Malaysia, executives and analysts said.
US lawmakers from both parties are pushing for tougher restrictions on China’s access to advanced artificial intelligence chips after the Huang scandal increased scrutiny of Nvidia’s role in US national security.
Washington restricts exports to China of Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips to protect US dominance of the sector, but lawmakers want to close a loophole that allows Chinese firms to rent computing power from overseas data centres and access the systems equipped with the chips remotely.
