U.S. authorities have revealed that the co-founder of technology company Super Micro Computer, Inc. has been arrested for allegedly participating in a scheme to illegally smuggle advanced artificial intelligence chips from the United States to China, valued at billions of dollars.
Prosecutors stated that the three suspects conspired to sell servers integrated with sensitive and regulated graphics processing units (GPUs) worth billions of dollars to Chinese buyers, thereby violating U.S. export control laws.
Super Micro Computer itself has not been charged; the company is a California tech firm valued at $18.5 billion, focusing on providing high-performance servers and data center hardware to large enterprises like IBM. Its infrastructure partners include companies such as Nvidia and Google.
The Department of Justice noted that the alleged smuggling scheme involved the three individuals employing a series of concealment tactics to cover up their actions of selling approximately $2.5 billion worth of servers to a Chinese company between 2024 and 2025, with sales during just April to May 2025 reaching $510 million.
James Barnacle, Jr., assistant director of the FBI's New York field office, stated, “The defendants are accused of forging documents, placing false equipment to pass audits, and using a freight forwarding company to cover up their misconduct and the true customer list.”
Currently, suspects Liaw and Sun have been arrested and will face a judge in the Northern District of California. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice stated that Chang, a Taiwanese citizen residing outside the United States, “remains a fugitive.”
Super Micro Stock Price Drops, Company States It Is Cooperating with Investigation
In response to media inquiries, Super Micro Computer distanced itself from the three arrested individuals, describing the alleged actions as “violations of company policy and compliance controls.”
A company spokesperson stated, “The company has been fully cooperating with the government investigation and will continue to do so. Super Micro is not listed as a defendant in the indictment.”
During regular trading hours on Thursday, Super Micro's stock initially rose. However, following the Department of Justice's announcement, the stock fell 13.25% in after-hours trading to $26.71.