The US let Nvidia sell chips to an empty office in China

The US Commerce Department has approved Nvidia to sell its H200 AI chips to Chinese firms with ties to blacklisted companies, including New Matrix, which has an empty office and unclear ownership. The company's owners have ties to a Chinese private equity firm blacklisted since 2024. This is part of a pattern of companies with national-security-related trade restrictions being approved to purchase Nvidia chips. The Trump administration relaxed restrictions on Nvidia's sales to China in 2024, allowing the company to give the government a 15% cut of all sales.