MTI says US firms like Nvidia should comply with S’pore laws amid DeepSeek probe
Amid a United States (US) probe into the new artificial intelligence (AI) bot from Chinese company DeepSeek, Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) has quoted a statement from American chipmaker Nvidia saying that there’s “no reason to believe” DeepSeek received export-controlled products from Singapore.
In a statement released on Saturday (1 Feb), MTI also said US firms like Nvidia should comply with Singapore laws.
Source: Office of International Affairs on LinkedIn
US officials suspect DeepSeek bought Nvidia chips via S’pore
The probe started after DeepSeek stunned the tech world with the release of its new bot on the same day as US President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
As the model was developed at a much lower cost than AI bots produced by other companies, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, attention soon turned to whether DeepSeek had used Nvidia chips that are not allowed to be shipped to China.
Soon, US officials started looking at Singapore, suspecting that DeepSeek had bought Nvidia chips via third parties in the Republic, reported Bloomberg.
Source: Solen Feyissa on Unsplash
US lawmakers call for stronger controls on shipments through S’pore
In a letter addressed to US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz dated 29 Jan, two lawmakers from the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party called for him to “strengthen controls on shipments through third countries that pose a high risk of diversion”.
They noted that Nvidia said in its most recent quarterly statement that Singapore represented 22% of its revenue.
However, the company had revealed that most of these shipments went to users outside of Singapore, the lawmakers said, adding:
Countries like Singapore should be subject to strict licensing requirements absent a willingness to crack down on PRC transhipment through their territory.
Many Nvidia customers in S’pore used for products intended for the West
Nvidia, on its part, clarified to Investing.com that the revenue associated with Singapore does not indicate diversion to China, saying:
Our public filings report “bill to” not “ship to” locations of our customers.
In fact, many of Nvidia’s customers have business entities in Singapore which are used for products intended for the West, including the US.
Source: @lifestylepkmagazine on Instagram
The company insists that its partners comply with applicable laws and will act accordingly if it receives information indicating otherwise.
S’pore is an international business hub: MTI
MTI highlighted these points in its statement, stating that Singapore is an international business hub which hosts significant operations of major US and European companies.
It noted that Nvidia had stated in its regulatory filing that “most shipments associated with Singapore revenue were to locations other than Singapore”.
Shipments to Singapore were “insignificant”, the company had also said.
S’pore customs & law enforcement will work closely with US
The ministry expects US companies such as Nvidia to comply with US export controls, as well as Singapore’s laws, it said, adding:
Our customs and law enforcement agencies will continue to work closely with their US counterparts.
MTI also said it has “always upheld the rule of law” and acted “decisively and firmly” against those who flout the rules.
Also read: S’porean Asks ChatGPT To Describe S’pore With Humour, Bot Says It’s A Comically Small ‘Neat-Freak’
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Featured image adapted from Solen Feyissa on Unsplash and @lifestylepkmagazine on Instagram.
