On December 10, individuals with inside knowledge revealed that NVIDIA has pioneered a "chip location verification" technology. This innovative system can pinpoint the geographical location of a chip, offering a potential safeguard against the illicit trafficking of NVIDIA's AI chips to nations subject to export restrictions. Although this capability has been showcased in private demonstrations over the past few months, it has yet to receive an official rollout. Customers will have the option to install it through a voluntary software update.

An NVIDIA representative disclosed that the software's initial purpose was to empower customers to monitor the aggregate computing prowess of their chips—a standard procedure for sizable data centers procuring a multitude of processors. The software approximates the chip's location by gauging the time lag in communication with NVIDIA's servers, a methodology akin to that employed by various internet-based services. Initially, this functionality will be accessible on NVIDIA's cutting-edge "Blackwell" chips. These chips boast enhanced security measures during the "certification" phase, setting them apart from their forerunners, the Hopper and Ampere models. Moreover, NVIDIA is actively investigating strategies to retrofit this feature onto earlier chip generations.