Second Chinese Firm Licensed for H200 Chips Appears to Have No Registered Physical Office
Key Facts
The U.S. administration approved Chinese company New Matrix in 2026 to assemble Nvidia H200 chips into computers for artificial intelligence, after the Commerce Department reviewed companies on national security grounds, according to a report by The Business Times citing The New York Times. But an on-site visit to the company’s registered address at an industrial complex near Beijing found an empty office. A receptionist and a manager at the property management office said they had no record of the company. The report described New Matrix as the second Chinese company to receive approval to handle the chips without any apparent physical presence at its registered address. The case centers on authorities’ ability to verify beneficiary companies and their locations, under export controls that tie chip shipments to security reviews.
Ownership links are relevant to that scrutiny: the United States placed the Wise Road Fund on the Commerce Department’s Entity List in 2024. The department said the fund had helped the Chinese government acquire strategically sensitive companies in the chip technology sector. Analysts believe New Matrix may be a front for companies linked to the fund, according to the report, but that does not mean a U.S. investigation into the case has been publicly announced. The report also does not establish that the authorized chips reached the company or were used in unauthorized activities. The issue remains tied to verifying the identity of the ultimate beneficiary and compliance with license conditions.
New Matrix is not the only company whose registered address has raised questions. In September, The New York Times reported that Mag Infra, a recently established Chinese company, had also obtained a license for H200 chips. Mag Infra appeared abandoned during a press visit to its registered address, according to the report. The cases place both companies within a broader review of how firms approved to handle advanced chips are verified. Commerce Department rules require an independent third-party test in the United States to verify the product’s performance and security. They also require the export applicant to demonstrate that supplies for U.S. customers are adequate.
The policy for reviewing export applications changed on January 13, 2026, when the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security said applications to export Nvidia H200 chips would be reviewed case by case and subject to security requirements. Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Jeffrey Kessler said allowing sales of the chips to China under controlled conditions “will strengthen the U.S. technology ecosystem.” Nvidia backed the decision, saying that making H200 available to approved commercial customers subject to Commerce Department review “strikes a thoughtful balance that serves America.” The rules prohibit using the chips for military purposes and cap Chinese imports at 50% of all chips sold to U.S. customers. The framework shows that approval of a company does not remove requirements to screen the product or beneficiary, or restrictions on use.
In its annual filing, the company said the U.S. government granted it a license in February 2026 to ship small quantities of H200 to specific customers in China, but it had generated no revenue from the licensing program by the filing date and did not know whether China would permit the imports. It added that shipments covered by the program would be subject to a 25% tariff upon entering the United States. The company said H200 shipments to customers in China accounted for less than 1% of data center revenue in the quarter ended in July. In the same filing, it said it incurred an accounting charge of $4.5 billion in the first quarter of its 2026 fiscal year because of excess H20 inventory and purchase obligations after demand declined. It warned that changes in export controls could disrupt supply and distribution chains and hurt its ability to meet demand, while rival companies offering alternatives less exposed to restrictions could benefit.
The agenda of China’s National Bureau of Statistics lists the monthly consumer price index report for 9 November at 9:30, the next economic release cited in the sources. The release comes as markets track the impact of trade restrictions on chip companies that depend on Chinese demand. The U.S. license keeps H200 shipments subject to case-by-case review and security and technical conditions. Entry of the chips into China also depends on import approval there, which Nvidia said it did not know about as of its filing date. The focus therefore remains on how beneficiary companies are verified and on export conditions, alongside the actual volume of shipments.