A truck carrying $11.4 million in Nvidia hardware disappeared after leaving Oakland, as organized cargo thieves increasingly target expensive computer equipment destined for the data centers powering the AI boom.A truck bearing the logo of a food transport company loaded up a shipment of Nvidia chip s and computer hardware valued at $11.4 million in Oakland on August 29 and headed south toward Fort Worth, Texas, as the outlet BigGo Finance reports. Eventually the truck’s driver stopped communicating with dispatch. Investigators were able to trace the truck’s route as far as San Bernardino County before losing track of it. Police say the truck made several stops along the way, each lasting multiple hours, suggesting that the people involved were familiar with freight operations.According to Bay Area News Group, investigators also believe some of the suspects' vehicles were obtained in Southern California, and that the group traveled to the Bay Area to carry out the theft.Police reportedly weren't notified of the theft until early September, giving the thieves several days to move the equipment. No arrests have been announced.Theft of Nvidia hardware has been on the rise amid the AI boom. As SFist reported last November, six Southern California men were arrested and charged in federal court in connection with a series of thefts that prosecutors say netted as much as $22 million in merchandise over five years.Most recently, the men allegedly stole $7 million worth of Nvidia chips from a Burlingame warehouse headed to a Supermicro facility in San Jose in December 2024. The same crew is also accused of stealing nearly $200,000 worth of Nvidia chips in Fremont in June 2025.A 2022 search of two of the suspects' home turned up a pneumatic jack, radio signal jammers, walkie-talkies, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, as Bay Area News Group reported last year. Prosecutors say the crew used fake vehicle registrations, switched license plates, and monitored police. They are also accused of stealing $100,000 worth of Apple Watches in Ohio in October 2024.Wired reported in September that some thieves were thwarted after they broke into a Newark warehouse and stole two semitrailers bearing the Nvidia and PlusAI names, likely expecting to find computer equipment. Comically, the trailers instead contained 40,000 pounds of sand to act as simulated loads for PlusAI’s research and development testing.Wired also reported in August about two California cargo thefts involving staged collisions to disable security vehicles escorting shipments of expensive AI equipment from Silicon Valley to Southern California. Both trucks disappeared after their escorts were forced off the road. A former Los Angeles sheriff's detective told the outlet he'd never seen such brazen tactics in his 25 years investigating cargo theft.Cargo thefts have reportedly been on the rise at the start of COVID but have become more widespread amid the AI boom. Wired notes that although reported thefts fell 26% year over year last quarter, the value of stolen goods more than doubled. Thieves have reportedly exploited trucking companies' business accounts and registration numbers to pose as legitimate carriers and take possession of shipments, sometimes disabling or spoofing GPS trackers. Some freight industry experts suspect stolen AI hardware is being shipped overseas, potentially to countries such as China.Related: Alleged SoCal Tech Burglar Crew Charged With Stealing $22 Million Worth of Gear From Bay Area Companies ...read more read less