Newly introduced export controls by the US have targeted China, preventing US companies like Nvidia from exporting powerful chips to the country. However, a recent report has revealed that Chinese entities, including military bodies and state-run AI research institutes, have managed to acquire these banned chips. An underground market for banned chips has emerged in China, with vendors claiming to source excess stock from major US firms. Nvidia’s GPUs were highly sought after in China’s AI chip market prior to the bans, holding a 90% market share. Elite universities and entities subject to US export restrictions have been identified as buyers of these chips.