U.S. approves Chinese firms with empty offices for Nvidia chips

The U.S. Commerce Department has granted licenses to approximately two dozen Chinese companies to purchase or handle Nvidia H200 artificial intelligence chips, according to an investigation published by The New York Times on Nov. 7, 2026. The report raises questions regarding the vetting process for entities permitted to receive this technology.

Among the approved firms are New Matrix and Maginfra, both of which appear to lack functional office operations. A visit to the registered address for New Matrix, a company licensed to assemble H200 chips into servers, revealed a space described as a hollow gray shell with wires dangling from the ceiling. Property management at the industrial park location has no record of the company, and it does not appear on the building's tenant directory.

Similarly, an investigation into Maginfra, another firm authorized to build servers using the chips, found a locked office containing only a few chairs and empty desks. Analysts have identified potential links between these firms and restricted entities; New Matrix has ownership ties to Wise Road Capital, a private equity fund blacklisted by the U.S. in 2024, while Maginfra is believed to be an offshoot of Inspur, a company currently on the U.S. Entity List.

The H200 processors are the most powerful AI chips the U.S. currently permits for export to China. The licensing program, which allows these firms to assemble the chips into servers for other customers, was established following a December 2025 decision by the Trump administration to reverse previous restrictions on the sale of the processors. There is no verified evidence that Nvidia has shipped chips directly to these empty offices, and it remains unconfirmed whether New Matrix has received or held any H200 hardware.