Nvidia on Tuesday rejected Chinese accusations that its data center GPUs for artificial intelligence include a hardware function that could remotely deactivate the chips, which is commonly called a "kill switch."
"NVIDIA GPUs do not and should not have kill switches and backdoors," wrote Nvidia's Chief Security Officer David Reber in a blog post on Tuesday.
The blog post comes after the Cyberspace Administration of China said last week that it needed Nvidia to provide documents about what it called security vulnerabilities in the H20, Nvidia's data center AI chip intended for the Chinese market. The regulator specifically mentioned "backdoor" security risks, according to the New York Times.
The statement is an example of how Nvidia is navigating geopolitical conflict as its AI chips remain in high demand by countries and companies around the world. U.S. lawmakers have proposed legislation that would require AI chips under export regulations to be equipped with location-tracking systems.
The U.S. has placed export controls on some Nvidia chips to China because of national security reasons, saying that the country could use the chips to gain an advantage in AI or for military purposes.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has argued that it is better for the U.S. if Nvidia's chips become the global standard for AI computers, especially among Chinese developers.