Nvidia privately told Rep. Bill Foster it could implement AI-chip geotracking under Chip Security Act

Foster, a Democrat on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, said Nvidia representatives told him during technical discussions that the company could build safeguards required by the bill. The Chip Security Act, introduced in May 2025, would require mechanisms to verify where advanced AI chips are located, including facility inspections, company attestations, or ping-based location signals when a GPU comes online. Nvidia did not respond to requests for comment.

The gap between public and private positions is documented in statements from Foster and the Semiconductor Industry Association. In March 2026, the SIA, of which Nvidia is a member, opposed the bill and said chip-tracking mandates were “new, untested, and potentially infeasible.” Foster said Nvidia’s representatives “never put anything in writing,” but told him, “yeah, of course we can do this.” Nvidia’s Fleet Intelligence tool, announced in December 2025, lets customers monitor chips across data-center sites and can indicate which country they are in, Reuters reported.

The debate sits inside export-control enforcement for advanced GPUs, the processors used to train large AI models. Lawmakers want location verification because chips can be routed through third countries or shell firms to evade restrictions. The report links the issue to investigations involving Megaspeed, a Singaporean firm under U.S. inquiry for alleged GPU smuggling, and Supermicro, which packages Nvidia chips onto servers. A September Center for Security and Emerging Technology assessment found ping-based tracking would be the most cost-effective option among the methods under discussion.

If tracking requirements enter the Senate’s National Defense Authorization Act, investigators would gain location data but not the ability to shut down smuggled chips, Foster said. The stakes reach Nvidia, server makers, data-center operators, and U.S. export-control agencies, because chips can be moved after sale and used abroad without a verified location record. The bill is one of three chip-security proposals under consideration for inclusion in the NDAA.