Nvidia is currently working on new technology to determine the location of its AI chips.
Nvidia has reportedly developed technology that indicates which country its chips are active in, according to Reuters. This could prevent the smuggling of AI chips to countries where their export is prohibited. According to sources via Reuters, Nvidia has demonstrated the technology privately over the past few months. The technology is said to be based on confidential computing capabilities of its graphics processing units (GPUs).
Location feature in chips
“We are implementing a new software service that enables data center administrators to monitor the health and inventory of their complete AI GPU fleet,” Nvidia said in a statement to Reuters.
To determine the location of the chips, the GPUs communicate with a server. The location is then determined based on the time delay. The feature will initially be available for Blackwell GPUs. It is not yet certain whether the Hopper and Ampere cards are also compatible with the technology.
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The location verification technology is primarily intended to prevent prohibited exports to other countries. Last year, a large-scale smuggling operation of Nvidia’s GPUs was discovered in China.