Taiwan Raids Supermicro Offices in U.S.-Led AI Chip Smuggling Probe

Executive Briefing

• Taiwanese authorities raided nine locations linked to Supermicro over alleged violation of U.S. AI chip export controls
• Scheme allegedly involved using hair dryers to transfer serial numbers from real Nvidia servers to dummy hardware
• Smuggled chips, valued at approximately $2.5 billion, were reportedly redirected to China via Southeast Asian middlemen
• Taiwan does not criminalize chip exports to China domestically, but raids signal growing enforcement of U.S. restrictions
• Supermicro shares fell roughly 8% on news of the raids; company says it is cooperating with authorities