# Chinese AI Firms Rush to Lock In Overseas Nvidia Capacity Before Washington Closes the Cloud Loophole, Reuters Reports

Times of AI Desk · 2026-11-12 · Policy

[https://timesof.ai/2026/11/chinese-ai-firms-rent-overseas-nvidia-capacity-remote-access-reuters](https://timesof.ai/2026/11/chinese-ai-firms-rent-overseas-nvidia-capacity-remote-access-reuters)

> Chinese AI companies are trying to rent Nvidia-powered computing capacity at data centres outside China, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters on November 12. They fear the allegations around former Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang could add momentum to the Remote Access Security Act, a House-passed bill that would let the Commerce Department regulate cloud access to restricted chips. A major Chinese cloud provider has discussed locking in overseas capacity and smaller labs are approaching Southeast Asian rental providers, the people said. The companies were not named.

The cheapest way for a Chinese lab to use Nvidia's best chips is still to rent them abroad, and the people doing it now think that window may close. Chinese AI companies are trying to reserve Nvidia-powered computing capacity at data centres outside China, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters on **November 12**. Their worry is that the allegations around former Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang will add political momentum to a US bill aimed squarely at that rental route.

## What Reuters reports

A major Chinese cloud provider has discussed internally whether to lock in overseas Nvidia capacity, and some companies have contacted data-centre operators about reserving it, the people said. Smaller AI labs are considering similar steps, including approaching large providers of rented computing power in Southeast Asia, two of the people said. Reuters did not name the companies, and the people declined to identify the cloud provider.

The bill at issue is the **Remote Access Security Act**, which would give the Commerce Department authority to regulate remote, cloud-based access to restricted technology. The House passed it in **January** by a **369-22** vote, and it awaits Senate action, Reuters reported. US rules restrict exports of Nvidia's most advanced AI chips to China, but Chinese companies can reach those processors by renting computing power at data centres overseas.

## The grey market and the Huang link

The prospect of tougher enforcement has also fuelled demand for restricted Nvidia chips in China's grey market, with traders and intermediaries starting to stockpile them, two of the people said. Buyers fear a broader US crackdown on smuggling of advanced chips and AI servers, according to the report.

The trigger is the affair Huang acknowledged on November 8. The New York Times reported that the woman involved was Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed, and that US authorities had concluded she was a Chinese intelligence asset; [our running file on the Megaspeed allegations](https://timesof.ai/2026/10/nyt-megaspeed-exec-chinese-intelligence-asset-jensen-huang) tracks that story, including Huang's resignation as Nvidia's chief executive on November 12. Reuters said it could not independently verify the allegation, which China has denied. Reuters also reported that Alice Huang had business dealings and investment ties with Tencent and Alibaba, according to two people, and that Singapore filings show an Alibaba subsidiary financed Speedmatrix, a Malaysian company linked to Megaspeed. Megaspeed has denied illegally diverting chips to China.

The report lands a day after [Reuters found a blacklisted Chinese defence university buying H200s through a local supplier](https://timesof.ai/2026/11/nvidia-h200-northwestern-polytechnical-entity-list-reuters), a reminder that the rental route is only one of the gaps Washington is trying to close.

## Limits

- Everything about the companies' plans rests on unnamed people speaking to Reuters; no Chinese company has confirmed reserving capacity, and the report describes discussions and inquiries, not signed contracts.
- We read Reuters' report through Investing.com's syndicated copy; The Hindu and The Star carry the same Reuters text, so they are not independent confirmation.
- Nvidia, Megaspeed and the Commerce Department had not responded to Reuters at publication, and Tencent and Alibaba had not commented.

## Sources

- [Investing.com (Reuters): Exclusive-Chinese AI firms rush to secure Nvidia chip capacity as spy scandal stirs fear of US curbs (November 12, 2026)](https://www.investing.com/news/economy-news/exclusivechinese-ai-firms-rush-to-secure-nvidia-chip-capacity-as-spy-scandal-stirs-fear-of-us-curbs-5020406)
- [NVIDIA: NVIDIA Announces CEO Transition (November 12, 2026)](https://investor.nvidia.com/news/press-release-details/2026/NVIDIA-Announces-CEO-Transition/)