Media: US secretly tracks AI chips shipped to China

U.S. authorities have secretly embedded location tracking devices in select shipments of advanced chips that they consider at high risk of illegal diversion to China, two sources with direct knowledge of the previously unreported law enforcement measure told Reuters. The tactic targets specific shipments under investigation and is intended to detect AI chips being routed to destinations restricted under U.S. export controls.

The move highlights the lengths to which U.S. agencies are going to enforce semiconductor export restrictions on China, even as the Trump administration has considered easing some limits on Chinese access to advanced American chips. Sources said the trackers can help build cases against individuals or companies profiting from violations of U.S. export regulations.

Location tracking devices have long been used by U.S. law enforcement to monitor products subject to export restrictions, including aeroplane parts, and have more recently been applied to semiconductors. Five people involved in the AI server supply chain said they were aware of trackers being installed in shipments of servers from manufacturers such as Dell and Super Micro, which include Nvidia and AMD chips.

According to these sources, the devices are usually concealed within the server packaging. It is unclear who installs the trackers or at which point along the shipping route they are placed.

Reuters could not determine how frequently the trackers have been used in chip-related investigations or exactly when U.S. authorities began employing them, though the U.S. began restricting sales of advanced chips to China from companies including Nvidia and AMD in 2022.

In one 2024 case, a shipment of Dell servers containing Nvidia chips reportedly included both large trackers attached to shipping boxes and smaller devices hidden inside the packaging and the servers themselves. Another source said they had seen images and videos of trackers being removed by resellers from Dell and Super Micro servers, noting that some larger devices were about the size of a smartphone.

U.S. agencies involved may include the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which oversees export controls, along with Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI. All declined to comment, as did the Chinese foreign ministry.

Super Micro said it does not disclose security practices protecting its operations, partners, and customers and declined to comment on government tracking. Dell said it was “not aware of a U.S. Government initiative to place trackers in its product shipments.”

By Tamilla Hasanova