China plans to allow limited Nvidia H200 chip sales to top AI firms amid computing crunch
3 Sources
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China plans to let top AI firms buy limited Nvidia H200 chips, the Information reports
China plans to permit its leading artificial intelligence companies to acquire Nvidia's H200 chips. Officials have informed Alibaba, ByteDance, and DeepSeek about potential upcoming permissions. Nvidia has already secured licenses from the United States government for these sales. The chip giant's shares saw a slight increase following this news report. Companies and the Commerce Department have not yet provided immediate comments. China is planning to allow the country's top AI companies to buy a limited number of Nvidia's H200 chips, the Information reported on Wednesday, citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter. Chinese officials have told Alibaba, ByteDance and DeepSeek in recent weeks that they may soon receive permission to buy some H200 chips, the report said. Shares of Nvidia rose 1% after the report. The chip giant did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The U.S. Commerce Department, which oversees exports of advanced AI chips overseas, did not immediately return a request for comment, while Alibaba, ByteDance and DeepSeek did not respond outside of regular business hours. Nvidia has already received licenses from the U.S. government to sell its advanced H200 chips to China. Reuters reported in March that the company had won Beijing's approval to sell the chips to China, citing sources. In March, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also told CNBC that the company had clearance from China.
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China Weighs Reversing Its Own NVIDIA Ban, May Let Alibaba, ByteDance & Others Buy 200,000 H200 Chips
After US-China geopolitical tensions led to the Chinese government banning local firms from buying NVIDIA's China-specific H200 GPUs, a report from The Information claims that the Chinese government is considering allowing local companies to buy the NVIDIA chips in restricted amounts. US chip restrictions have constrained China's ability to manufacture leading-edge chips, and additional restrictions on NVIDIA's products have sapped Beijing's ability to procure the necessary hardware to run the latest AI technologies. Chinese Firms Alibaba, ByteDance & DeepSeek Might Be Allowed To Buy NVIDIA Chips, Says Report Today's report follows an earlier one from Reuters, which had outlined that the Chinese government was considering restrictions on the country's advanced artificial intelligence models. Sources quoted by the publication added that Anthropic's Mythos and its cybersecurity capability had left Beijing worried, and its latest deliberations came after blocking social media giant Meta Platforms from acquiring a domestic firm. NVIDIA, following US sanctions on its products, had developed a China-specific chip called the H200, which complied with all US export control laws. However, in response to the US export controls, the Chinese government had limited domestic companies from buying the chips. Now, as per The Information, the government might be interested in allowing some companies to buy limited numbers of the AI GPUs. Today's report comes after NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang confirmed to CNBC that his firm had secured China's approval to sell its chips to local companies. In an interview in May, Huang outlined that his firm had not included any guidance from China sales in its financial estimates and in March, Huang had outlined to reporters at the GTC that his firm was gearing up to provide chips to Chinese companies. According to The Information, the Chinese government is still deliberating the number of NVIDIA chips that will be allowed to be sold to the local firms. The magic number might be 200,000, believes the publication, which would be less than half of what the companies have requested. Some of the companies that could secure the Chinese approval include ByteDance, DeepSeek and Alibaba, as per The Information's sources. While the chips under question belong to NVIDIA's Hopper generation, the firm's latest products are two generations ahead. NVIDIA plans to start shipments of its Rubin chips this Fall and of the next-generation Rubin Ultra GPUs in 2027. However, reports have suggested that some Rubin Ultra chips could be delayed to 2028 due to production constraints. Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
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China to let AI firms buy Nvidia H200 chips, the Information reports
Shares of Nvidia rose in Wednesday morning trading after a report said China is planning to allow its top AI firms to buy a limited number of Nvidia's second most powerful AI chip, the H200. A report from The Information on Wednesday said Chinese officials have told Alibaba, ByteDance and DeepSeek in recent weeks that they may soon receive permission to buy some of those chips. The U.S. government has allowed Nvidia to sell its advanced H200 chips to China, and licensed about 10 Chinese firms to buy the chips. But Chinese officials had withheld approval, looking to nurture their domestic suppliers. :: Nvidia :: Archive Reuters reported in March that Nvidia had won Beijing's long-awaited approval to sell the chips to China. :: Nvidia The potential shift in China's stance underscores the growing computing capacity crunch that the country's tech companies are facing. Nvidia on Wednesday did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the U.S. Commerce Department, which oversees exports of advanced AI chips.
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China is preparing to let leading AI companies purchase a restricted number of Nvidia H200 chips after months of blocking domestic access. Officials have informed Alibaba, ByteDance, and DeepSeek they may soon receive permission, marking a potential policy shift as the country's tech sector faces a severe computing capacity shortage despite earlier efforts to support domestic suppliers.
China AI Firms May Soon Access Nvidia H200 Chips
China is planning to allow the country's top AI companies to purchase a limited number of Nvidia H200 chips, according to a report from The Information citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter
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. Chinese officials have informed Alibaba, ByteDance, and DeepSeek in recent weeks that they may soon receive permission to buy some H200 chips, marking a significant policy shift after months of restrictions1
. The move comes as China's tech sector grapples with a growing high-performance computing capacity crunch that threatens to hamper AI development efforts.Nvidia shares rose 1% following the report, reflecting investor optimism about potential market access . The chip giant has already secured licenses from the U.S. Commerce Department to sell its advanced H200 chips to China, with approximately 10 Chinese firms licensed to purchase the hardware
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. Jensen Huang, Nvidia's CEO, confirmed in March that the company had received clearance from China and told CNBC that Nvidia had secured Beijing's approval to sell the chips1
.Geopolitical Trade Policies Drive AI Hardware Supply Chains
Source: Wccftech
The potential approval follows a complex series of geopolitical trade policies that have reshaped AI hardware supply chains. US export controls initially restricted Nvidia from selling its most advanced chips to China, prompting the company to develop a China-specific H200 chip that complied with all U.S. export control laws
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. However, in response to these restrictions, the Chinese government had limited domestic companies from buying even these modified chips, looking instead to nurture domestic suppliers3
.According to The Information, the Chinese government is still deliberating on the exact number of AI chip exports that will be permitted. Sources suggest the magic number might be 200,000 chips, which would represent less than half of what China's top AI companies have requested
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. This limited allocation underscores Beijing's attempt to balance domestic AI infrastructure needs against its broader strategy of supporting homegrown chip manufacturers.Related Stories
Computing Capacity Crunch Forces Policy Shift
Source: ET
The potential reversal in China's stance highlights the severe computing capacity shortage facing the country's technology sector. Despite efforts to develop domestic alternatives, Chinese firms have struggled to access the hardware necessary to run the latest AI technologies, putting them at a competitive disadvantage
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. The shortage has become acute enough that Beijing appears willing to reconsider its earlier restrictions, even as it continues to face US chip restrictions that constrain China's ability to manufacture leading-edge chips domestically.While the H200 chips belong to Nvidia's Hopper generation, the company's product roadmap has moved significantly ahead. Nvidia plans to start shipments of its Rubin chips this Fall and the next-generation Rubin Ultra GPUs in 2027, though some reports suggest certain Rubin Ultra chips could face delays until 2028 due to production constraints
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. This means that even if approved, China AI firms would be working with hardware that is two generations behind Nvidia's cutting edge, potentially widening the technology gap between Chinese and Western AI capabilities. The U.S. Commerce Department and the companies involved have not yet provided immediate comments on the reported developments1
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