Nvidia · Calif · Supply Chain · Fortune Technology
Thieves stole an Nvidia-branded truck filled with just 20,000 pounds of sand—and it points to Big Tech’s $150 million AI
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Cargo pirates, perhaps in search of precious AI loot, found a completely different kind of booty after stealing two trailers from an autonomous trucking company: sand, and lots of it.
Key facts
- In June, investigators with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office in Illinois recovered two trailers outside of Chicago, including one containing $300,000 worth of copper wire stolen from Alabama and $1
- Supply-chain risk management firm Overhaul has already tracked more than $150 million in AI equipment cargo losses since it began tracking the data, and AI-related theft, including data center
- By the end of 2025, smuggling was responsible for between 290,000 and 1.6 million Nvidia H100–equivalent chips, making up about one-third of China’s total compute stock, according to research
- Lauren Kwan, vice president of marketing at PlusAI, told Fortune that since the company’s 2016 founding, it has never had a tractor or trailer stolen: “This was a first
Summary
The trucking company, PlusAI, confirmed two trailers were stolen last week from its Fremont, Calif., warehouse, including one with Nvidia branding on it. The theft happened overnight: Workers discovered the trailers missing the next morning, and police recovered them later that day after a friend of PlusAI’s vice president of legal happened to spot them parked outside a Newark office and sent a photo. PlusAI uses sand to simulate the loads its trailers must carry to support research and development testing, as carrying the material closely mimics real freight conditions. Lauren Kwan, vice president of marketing at PlusAI, told Fortune that since the company’s 2016 founding, it has never had a tractor or trailer stolen: “This was a first.” Nvidia declined Fortune ’s request for comment.