Lutnick backs narrower AI chip controls as his family firm's business draws scrutiny, NYT reports

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is pushing for narrower controls on overseas access to advanced US AI chips, an approach that could benefit data centre companies with ties to his former firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, The New York Times reported, according to a Seeking Alpha summary. Washington bars direct sales of leading Nvidia chips to China, but Chinese companies can legally rent computing capacity at facilities abroad, and administration officials disagree on how far to restrict that.

The Commerce Department's proposal would cover seven countries and future chip shipments, exempting equipment already installed, and would require government notification of certain Chinese AI training activity without automatically triggering a licence requirement. Other officials favour worldwide restrictions.

Cantor, now run by Lutnick's sons, helped arrange stock offerings for Bitdeer, including one of up to $1 billion this year, and Bitdeer's planned Malaysian facility is likely to serve Tencent, the Times reported. The Times found no evidence that Cantor's business influenced Lutnick's decisions; Commerce said he complies with his ethics agreements and does not discuss department matters with his sons. The report adds to scrutiny of Lutnick as the White House weighs his future over Nvidia export issues.