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US investigation into DeepSeek awakening Singapore up from day dreaming.

The US is investigating if DeepSeek, the Chinese company whose AI model’s performance rocked the tech world in January, has been using US chips that are not allowed to be shipped to China, Reuters reported earlier.

The Singapore case is part of a broader police investigation of 22 individuals and companies suspected of false representation, amid concerns that organized AI chip smuggling to China has been tracked out of nations such as Singapore.
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THE TIMES OF INDIA
"US Suspicion May Be Right, Singapore May Have An 'Nvidia-DeepSeek Problem'"

In 2024, Singapore unexpectedly surged to become Nvidia’s second-biggest revenue hub, prompting speculation that the city-state was a conduit for smuggling GPUs into China. 

Nvidia refuted the claims, insisting that its billing locations don’t reflect where the GPUs ultimately end up and noting that Singapore accounted for under 2% of its fiscal 2025 shipments. 

The U.S. Commerce Department’s scrutiny intensified after DeepSeek unveiled its open-source AI model and chatbot, raising questions about whether it accessed banned chips.

Reuters reported last year that entities like the Chinese military, state AI labs, and universities had acquired restricted U.S. semiconductors despite export controls.

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The episode, while yet to be decided in court, has drawn attention to the risks involved in an open economy. Reporting in the Financial Times last year found China had set up a “back door” into Western markets via financial intermediaries – such as trading firms, shell companies, and holding companies, including in Singapore and elsewhere – to act as the listed buyer for restricted goods. “‘Singapore-washing’ describes a process through which Chinese companies set up a subsidiary or reincorporate in the city state to mitigate the geopolitical risks and scrutiny often directed at China-based entities,” the FT found.

Singapore’s strong corporate secrecy regulations, which offer extensive protections for foreign investors, can also make it difficult to rapidly identify the true recipients of goods."