Thieves Steal $11.4 Million in Nvidia Equipment in Bolder Data Center Heist

Thieves stole $11.4 million worth of Nvidia hardware that was supposed to ship from Oakland, California, to Fort Worth, Texas. Police suspect the crime was carried out by sophisticated thieves, and no arrests have been announced.

A vehicle picked up six pallets of equipment in Oakland on August 29 as planned. Shippers tried to disguise the cargo by using a vehicle with a food company's logo, but the tactic failed when the pallets were still stolen. No one realized the shipment was missing until early September. Police tried to trace the vehicle, but lost track of it in San Bernardino County after it made several multi-hour stops.

The incident is part of a growing trend of cargo thefts targeting data center equipment as the artificial intelligence boom fuels heavy construction. Investigations in Fremont and Union City during 2025 involved more than $7.5 million in losses for Nvidia. In June 2026, authorities in Chicago recovered $1.3 million worth of equipment using GPS trackers.

Thieves are becoming increasingly ambitious and are using advanced tactics to bypass security. Some criminals use GPS manipulation and other methods to counter tracking devices, while others ram private escort vehicles that follow shipments. Shippers also face cyberattacks, using common hacking and phishing methods where thieves impersonate legitimate shipping companies.

In response, shipping companies are investing more in monitoring services and deploying Flock cameras to watch for suspicious people and license plates. Not all theft attempts succeed in finding valuable technology, however. In September, thieves stole Nvidia-branded trailers expecting to find graphics processing units, but instead discovered 20,000 pounds of sand that another company was using to simulate loads for research and development.

Summary

The massive theft highlights how valuable artificial intelligence hardware has become, prompting criminals to use increasingly sophisticated tactics to steal shipments while forcing companies to adopt heavier security measures.