[DigitalToday reporter Jinju Hong] U.S. Representative Bill Foster said Nvidia privately judged it is possible to track the location of high-performance AI chips.

The blockchain outlet The Defiant reported on Wednesday that Foster's remarks directly conflict with semiconductor industry arguments against requiring mandatory safety features for advanced AI chips.

The main issue is whether it is technically possible to verify advanced AI chips moving in ways that bypass export controls or usage restrictions. Foster claimed Nvidia privately viewed chip tracking as feasible. That contrasts with warnings from semiconductor industry groups that requiring mandatory safeguards or tracking systems for high-performance chips would be technically burdensome and unrealistic.

Foster took issue with the idea that companies' public comments and internal judgments could differ in the debate over whether chips can be tracked. He said Nvidia privately judged tracking was possible. He suggested that if that view is accurate, the premise of regulatory discussions could change.

The semiconductor industry is pushing back, saying mandatory safety measures could burden supply chains and product design. Industry groups have warned about forcing protective measures into advanced AI chips. But Foster's account raises the possibility that the debate could shift from technical impossibility to a matter of policy choice.

The dispute also intersects with a broader shift toward treating AI semiconductors as strategic technologies subject to regulation, rather than purely commercial components. If it is actually possible to confirm a chip's physical movement or where it is used, that could affect the enforceability of export controls and methods to block circumvention trades. If such measures become mandatory, manufacturers' and customers' resistance, implementation methods and cost burdens could become new points of contention.

Foster's claim is being read as a message that policymakers should not judge technical limits solely based on companies' public positions. He cited Nvidia's private judgment and directly challenged claims that tracking functions are impossible. It also heightened the need to distinguish whether concerns raised by semiconductor industry groups are technical issues or regulatory burden issues.

Key questions going forward are whether legislation or regulatory discussions will lead to making chip tracking mandatory, and what positions chip companies including Nvidia will take publicly. As tighter controls over advanced AI chips continue, the gap between companies' internal judgments on trackability and the industry's external messaging is emerging as a key variable in the regulatory debate.