https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2026/03/20/super-micro-shares-plunge-25-after-co-founder-charged-in-25-billion-ai-chip-smuggling-plot/

 
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Breaking
Business

Super Micro Shares Plunge 25% After Co-Founder Charged In $2.5
Billion AI Chip Smuggling Plot

ByTy Roush,

Forbes Staff.

Ty Roush is a breaking news reporter based in New York City.
Follow Author
Mar 20, 2026, 09:12am EDT
 

Topline

Super Micro Computer's stock plummeted by more than 25% in premarket
trading on Friday, after the U.S. arrested co-founder Yih-Shyan Liaw,
alleging Liaw and two others conspired to smuggle AI chips worth
billions of dollars into China.

The tech firm said it placed Yih-Shyan Liaw and one other employee on
administrative leave.
NurPhoto via Getty Images

Key Facts

Shares of Super Micro dropped by 25.3% to around $23 in premarket
trading, pacing what would be the company's largest single-day loss
since October 2024 (32%).

Liaw, a senior vice president of business development, Ruei-Tsang
Chang, a manager in Super Micro's Taiwan-based office, and Ting-Wei
Sun, an outside contractor, were each charged with one count of
violating U.S. export control law, one count of conspiring to smuggle
goods from the U.S. and one count of conspiring to defraud the U.S.,
the Justice Department said Thursday.

Prosecutors allege Liaw, Chang and Sun sold banned Nvidia-powered AI
chips through a Southeast Asia company--identified as "Company-1"--and
then forwarded those chips to China through third-party brokers,
violating U.S. export controls.

These alleged smuggling efforts generated about $2.5 billion in sales
for Super Micro since 2024, prosecutors claim.

Super Micro, which is not named as a defendant, said in a statement
that Liaw and Chang were placed on administrative leave and that the
company terminated its relationship with the contractor.

Surprising Fact

Liaw, who co-founded the company in 1993, holds about $464 million
worth of Super Micro's shares, according to FactSet.

Big Number

$18.4 billion. That's Super Micro's market value as of Thursday's
share price, though Friday's slide would subtract roughly $4.7
billion, lowering the firm's market cap to about $13.7 billion.

Key Background

Demand for Nvidia's high-powered graphics processing units has soared
as more companies compete to train generative AI models. The U.S.
first restricted shipments of Nvidia products to China in 2022, and
while President Donald Trump indicated he would further block China
from obtaining Nvidia's chips, he has since relaxed trade policy.
Trump said in December he would allow the export of Nvidia's
second-most powerful chip, the H200, to China, and announced that the
eased restrictions would also apply to AMD, Intel, and "other GREAT
American Companies." While pulling back on the trade policy, Trump
claimed the Biden administration, which implemented the restrictions,
forced companies to spend "BILLIONS OF DOLLARS building 'degraded'
products that nobody wanted." The U.S. will receive a 25% cut from
the sale of these advanced chips, Trump said.

Further Reading

ForbesChipmaker Stocks Fall After Trump Clears AI Chip Exports To
China
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