Taiwanese prosecutors have charged nine people, including an Nvidia employee and two former Super Micro employees, over the alleged illegal export of high-end artificial intelligence servers to mainland China.

The case adds to growing tensions surrounding the global AI technology race between the United States and China.

Taiwan is a major supplier of advanced semiconductors used in AI systems, making its technology sector a key part of the US-China competition. Washington has imposed restrictions on Nvidia’s sales of advanced AI chips to China since 2022 and has tightened those controls in recent years.

According to the Keelung District Prosecutors’ Office, sales of high-end AI servers by Nvidia require strict checks under export rules. Companies must also inspect customers on site when more than eight such servers are purchased.

Prosecutors said the servers involved in the case contained B300 graphics processing units (GPUs), which are banned from being sold to China.

Nvidia spokesperson Patrick Rutherford said the company would work with Taiwanese authorities to resolve the allegations as quickly as possible.

Super Micro said two of its former employees were arrested after the company cooperated with Taiwanese authorities. It added that it would continue strengthening its export compliance measures.

Prosecutors said 74 servers were successfully sent to China. Of these, 50 were routed through Indonesia, 16 were shipped directly to China and eight were sent to Japan and then Hong Kong before reaching the mainland.

Another shipment involving 56 servers failed, and those machines remain in Taiwan.

Prosecutors are seeking maximum five-year prison terms for four of the nine defendants. One of them, an Nvidia manager identified only by his surname Chang, was described as a key figure who authorized the release of the B300 GPUs.

Prosecutors also alleged that some defendants set up a company in Japan and created fake websites and documents to bypass export restrictions.