According to reports, U.S. prosecutors are investigating a large-scale smuggling case of Nvidia AI chips, involving a scale of US$2.5 billion. The Southeast Asian company named "Company-1" in the indictment was confirmed to be OBON, a Thai company headquartered in Bangkok. This is the first time that the code name has been matched with an entity company since the indictment in March. In March 2026, U.S. prosecutors officially filed a lawsuit in this case. This is the largest chip smuggling crackdown since the United States implemented Nvidia’s high-end GPU export restrictions in 2022.
Thailand OBON Company is the core party involved in this case. It is accused of joining forces with AMD related personnel to complete the illegal transfer operation of NVIDIA GPU servers.
Super Micro Computer co-founder Liao Yixian was involved in the case and has pleaded not guilty to smuggling charges. Super Micro Computer has launched an internal investigation and suspended him.
Financial data shows that in the second quarter of 2024, OBON ranked the 11th customer in Super Micro Computer revenue contribution, with a revenue contribution of nearly US$100 million in a single quarter.
Since October 2024, Super Micro Computer has conducted compliance audits on OBON Company several times and briefly suspended the company’s shipment operations twice.
In August 2025, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a formal directive requiring a complete suspension of chip and server shipments to OBON. This control directive is still in effect today.
Nvidia responded that ecosystem partners need to strictly fulfill their compliance obligations, and the company will continue to cooperate with regulatory authorities to implement export control regulations.
In response to this case, Nvidia has comprehensively upgraded its global supply chain monitoring. From chip shipment to terminal logistics, all must be reported in real time. Many companies have expanded their legal teams to handle more rigorous audits.
