Code Name SANDKYAN: Nvidia’s Illegal Route To China

A single banned Nvidia server costs one million euros on the Chinese black market as smuggling networks under code name SANDKYAN outpace Washington export controls.

Four years after the United States began restricting exports of AI chips, Nvidia remains the market leader in China. The most powerful systems can no longer be sold officially, dozens of models appear on sanctions lists, and Washington has tightened controls almost every six months. Yet many of the most important Chinese AI models continue to run on Nvi…