Businesses in China have begun to thrive due to increase in their demand, which in theory it shouldn’t exist. The repair of advanced Nvidia, opens new tab for artificial intelligence chipsets that the US has banned the export of to its trade and tech rival.

Companies have now started offering repair services, according to two such firms in the tech hub of Shenzhen which say they predominantly fix Nvidia’s H100 graphics processing units (GPUs) that have somehow made their way to the country, as well as A100 GPUs and a range of other chips.

US authorities banned H100 from sale in China in September 2022, just before its launch. They had keen vision to rein in Chinese technology development, it advancement aligned with military use. It’s predecessors , the A100 was also banned at the same time after being on the market for over two years.

“There is really significant repair demand,” said a co-owner of a firm that has been fixing Nvidia’s gaming GPUs for 15 years and began working on AI chips in late 2024.

Sales were so good that the owners of the Nvidia created another company to handle those orders. Nvidia now handles repair of 500 Nvidia AI chips per month. It’s facility includes a room which can accommodate 256 servers. It stimulates customers’ data center environments to conduct testing and validating repairs.

The rapid growth of the repair industry from late last year supports the view that there has been a significant amount of smuggling of Nvidia chipsets into China. Tenders have shown that the government and the military have made purchases of the US firm’s banned AI chips.

The company has been concerned about smuggling of high-end Nvidia products into China on large scale. It has prompted both Republican and Democratic lawmakers to introduce bills that would require the tracking of chipsets so their location can be verified, after being sold. US president Donald Trump’s administration also supported the idea this week.

The thriving repair industry also highlights how Nvidia’s advanced GPUs remain in high demand despite new, albeit less powerful, products from Chinese tech giant Huawei.

The buying, selling and repair of Nvidia GPUs is not illegal in China, sources for this article were reluctant to draw scrutiny from US or Chinese authorities and declined to be identified.

On the other hand, Nvidia cannot legally provide repair or replacement items for restricted products in China.

In contrast, sources said if an Nvidia GPU in another nation has a defect and is under warranty, which is normally three years, the company usually replaces it.

According to a spokesperson in Nvidia said only the company and authorised partners “are able to provide the service and support that customers need.

Using restricted products without approved hardware, software, and technical support is a nonstarter, both technically and economically.“