US is probing whether DeepSeek secured AI chips from Singapore
Singapore is working with US customs and law enforcement
Singapore accounts for only a very modest portion of Nvidia Corp.’s revenue, according to a senior official, as Washington is looking into whether Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has been securing chips via the Southeast Asian country.
“The physical delivery of products sold by Nvidia to Singapore represent less than 1% of Nvidia’s overall revenue,” in the three-month period ending in October in 2024, Tan See Leng, the island nation’s second minister for trade and industry, told lawmakers on Tuesday. He said those are mostly deployed for major enterprises and the government.
Tan added that while Nvidia attributed 22% of its sales in the August-October period to Singapore, the country was where Nvidia’s customers received their bill. “It is common practice for global entities to centralize the billing for procured goods and services in their hubs, but this is separate from where the products are shipped to so far from our checks,” the official said.
Officials in the administration of US President Donald Trump are probing whether DeepSeek bought advanced Nvidia semiconductors through third parties in Singapore, circumventing Washington’s restrictions on sales of chips used for artificial intelligence tasks, Bloomberg News has reported. Nvidia has indicated it did not think DeepSeek violated export controls, while Singapore has said its customs and law enforcement departments will continue to work closely with US counterparts.
The Hangzhou-based startup recently released a chatbot, called R1, that in some respects performs as well as comparable tools from the US, suggesting that China is further ahead in the AI race than previously believed. Some prominent engineers have marveled at R1’s capabilities, and DeepSeek has touted the tool’s low cost and efficiency, prompting rivals to speculate whether it was built on the back of Western technology.
On Tuesday, Tan reiterated Singapore customs works closely with its foreign counterparts, including those from the US, to facilitate investigations where appropriate. He said his government does not condone business trying to use their ties with Singapore to bypass export controls imposed by other countries.
