WHY THIS MATTERS
Chinese AI companies, including ByteDance, Alibaba, Tencent and Moonshot AI, have been accessing advanced Nvidia chips barred from direct export to China by renting computing capacity at data centers in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, according to a CNBC report published on August 19, 2026 and confirmed by outlets including BigGo Finance. The US Bureau of Industry and Security is reviewing this legal pathway, since current export rules control physical possession of chips, not remote cloud access to them, a gap the Remote Access Security Act aims to close, though the bill has stalled in the Senate since passing the House in January.In this article
Buying Is Banned, Renting Is Not
A CNBC report published on August 19, 2026 details how Chinese artificial intelligence companies have kept access to advanced Nvidia chips even under US export restrictions. Instead of buying the hardware directly, which is banned for the most advanced models, these companies rent computing capacity hosted at data centers outside mainland China, a practice that, according to experts cited in the report, is not clearly illegal under current rules.
The Technical Detail Behind the Loophole
The US export control system regulates physical possession of AI chips but does not cover remote cloud access to that same computing power. Bureau of Industry and Security advisory opinions from 2009, 2011 and 2014 already established that cloud providers are not considered exporters under existing rules, and that making computing capacity available remotely does not, on its own, count as an export event.
ByteDance, Alibaba, Tencent and Moonshot AI in the Spotlight
According to BigGo Finance, Moonshot AI used Nvidia GB300 chips through a facility in Thailand to train its Kimi K3 model, released in July 2026, prompting the US government to publicly accuse the company of skirting the restrictions. ByteDance has also been linked to an arrangement with data centers in Malaysia, while Alibaba and Tencent are among the companies reported to have sought this kind of remote access to Nvidia's computing power.
A Bill Stalled in the Senate Since January
The Remote Access Security Act, legislation that would expand US export controls to cover cloud-based remote access to critical hardware, passed the House of Representatives in January 2026 but remains without a Senate vote. Until the legislation advances and specific enforcement rules are set, the loophole identified by CNBC is likely to remain available to Chinese companies willing to pay for remote access instead of direct hardware ownership.
Why It Matters for Brazilian Agencies and SMBs
The episode does not directly affect Brazilian contracts, but it reinforces a pattern relevant to anyone planning long-term AI infrastructure investments: hardware export controls are easier to circumvent than they appear, and global demand for cutting-edge computing capacity keeps outpacing legally available supply. That imbalance is likely to keep pressure on the price of chips and AI cloud services over the medium term, a factor Brazilian agencies should weigh when negotiating infrastructure contracts with adjustment clauses tied to hardware costs.