Nvidia Unveils AI Chip Tracking Software Amid US-China Export Tensions

• Nvidia developed AI chip tracking software to locate its chips and prevent smuggling to countries with export bans, amidst US-China tensions.
• The software uses confidential computing features, measures chip performance, and estimates physical location via communication delays with Nvidia servers.
• This unreleased technology, privately demonstrated, will debut on Nvidia's Blackwell chips, with potential support for older Hopper and Ampere models.
• The tracking capability could help the U.S. government tighten controls on AI chip exports, especially to China, following recent smuggling charges.
• China has raised concerns about potential "backdoors" in Nvidia GPUs, adding to geopolitical tensions despite recent statements on H200 chip exports.

Why It Matters: Nvidia's new chip tracking software could tighten US export controls on AI chips.