Nvidia · China · Taiwan · California · Tom's Hardware
Super Micro smuggling co-conspirator pleads guilty to sending AI chips to China
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Ting-Wei “Willy” Sun, a third-party broker and “fixer” who’s been charged alongside Super Micro co-founder Yih-Shyan “Wally” Liaw and sales manager Ruei-Tsang “Steven” Chang for conspiring to unlawfully divert Nvidia AI chips to China, has pleaded guilty to the allegations against him.
Key facts
- Super Micro has also denied any knowledge of the operation, even as it has netted $2.5 billion in sales since it started in 2024
- Sun’s guilty plea is the latest development in the U.S.’s clampdown on illegal AI chip exports, which happened soon after another tech CEO was arrested in California for smuggling $300 million
- Sun is also expected to be sentenced on Sept. 8, 2027, after entering his plea
- The Super Micro co-founder is set to go to trial this coming Nov. 2, even as the third co-conspirator, Chang, remains a fugitive
Summary
The case against the individuals was revealed earlier this year after it was discovered that they diverted Super Micro servers containing Nvidia chips to China. Super Micro has also denied any knowledge of the operation, even as it has netted $2.5 billion in sales since it started in 2024. Taiwanese authorities are also building their own case against the illegal shipment of AI chips to China, with the investigators raiding some Super Micro offices and the homes of six individuals. Sun’s guilty plea is the latest development in the U.S.’s clampdown on illegal AI chip exports, which happened soon after another tech CEO was arrested in California for smuggling $300 million in Nvidia AI servers to China.