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Chinese Startup Accesses 2,300 NVIDIA GPUs via Indosat Amid US Ban

JAKARTA — Chinese startup INF Tech has reportedly obtained 2,300 NVIDIA GPUs through Indonesian telecom company PT Indosat Tbk (ISAT), despite ongoing tensions between the United States and China.

The US president has prohibited NVIDIA from selling its latest Blackwell chips to China. However, a Wall Street Journal investigation revealed that Chinese companies can still acquire these chips through intermediaries in other countries, including Indonesia.

Supply Chain: From California to Jakarta

According to Tom's Hardware on Monday (17/11/2025), the transaction began in California, where NVIDIA sold its newest chips to Aivres, a US-based partner that builds AI servers.

Aivres is partially owned by Inspur, a Chinese technology company blacklisted by the US government for its links to China’s military. Despite this, Aivres is allowed to trade internationally if it follows US export regulations, as it is classified as a domestic company.

Indosat purchased 32 NVIDIA GB200 server racks from Aivres. Each rack contains 72 Blackwell GPUs, bringing the total to 2,304 chips. The deal is valued at approximately US$100 million, or Rp1.67 trillion (exchange rate: Rp16,701).

INF Tech and University Collaboration

Sources reported to WSJ that when Indosat acquired the GPUs, Aivres had identified INF Tech as the client. INF Tech develops AI for financial and healthcare applications.

INF Tech was founded by Qi Yuan, a US citizen born in China who also leads an AI institute at Fudan University. University representatives attended negotiations with Indosat, although INF Tech signed the contract.

The servers have been installed at Indosat’s Jakarta facilities since October 2025. INF Tech stated to WSJ that their research does not involve military applications and complies with US export rules.

Compliance and Concerns Over US Export Rules

Indosat CEO Vikram Sinha said the company works with multinational partners. “Every customer outside Indonesia follows the same regulations, whether from the US or China. If all rules are met, we support it,” he said.

Tom's Hardware noted that because Indosat, INF Tech, and Fudan University are not listed on the US Entity List, the transaction is considered legal. Critics, however, are concerned about Chinese access to US hardware. They argue that even companies not currently linked to China’s military could be compelled by the Chinese government in the future.

NVIDIA’s Position on Compliance

US AI diffusion rules were intended to prevent such transfers, though past administrations did not fully enforce them. NVIDIA has supported looser export controls to maintain US leadership in AI.

A NVIDIA spokesperson said that their compliance team evaluated and approved all partners before shipping the chips. “We support the Trump administration’s vision to secure US AI leadership and create American jobs,” the spokesperson added.

PHOTO: UNSPLASH

This article was created with AI assistance.