Chinese tech giants place $35 billion Nvidia chip orders amid US export restrictions
9 Sources
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China's tech giants drop $35 billion on export-compliant Nvidia RTX Pro 5500 workstation GPU orders to power AI ambitions, according to reports -- ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent order 3 million cards despite warnings that only 10% of orders are fulfillable
Chinese technology giants ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have reportedly spent over $35 billion on orders for more than 3 million Nvidia RTX Pro 5500 workstation GPUs. The huge order for the RTX Pro 5500, fully compliant with U.S. restrictions on exports of AI-capable GPUs to China, is reportedly
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EXCLUSIVE: ByteDance, Alibaba, Tencent place over $35 billion worth of Nvidia chip orders
Oct 20 (Reuters) - ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have ordered more than 3 million of Nvidia's new RTX PRO 5500 graphics cards with a collective sticker price of over $35 billion, two people familiar with the matter said, in a rush for a less powerful but export-compliant chip amid US restrictions
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Nvidia blames "outdated" curbs as China orders $35bn of RTX PRO 5500s
The RTX PRO 5500 is an export-compliant workstation card, not a data-centre chip. Nvidia has reportedly warned partners it may deliver only 5% to 10% of what Chinese buyers asked for. ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have ordered more than 3 million of Nvidia's RTX PRO 5500 graphics cards. Their
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ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent order Nvidia chips worth $35 billion
Nvidia has told customers it cannot guarantee full delivery of the RTX PRO 5500 cards as demand exceeds planned production ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have placed orders for more than 3 million RTX PRO 5500 graphics cards from Nvidia $NVDA, carrying a combined list price above $35 billion,
[5]
Nvidia chip orders: ByteDance, Alibaba, Tencent place over $35 billion worth of Nvidia chip orders
ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have ordered more than 3 million of Nvidia's new RTX PRO 5500 graphics cards with a collective sticker price of over $35 billion, two people familiar with the matter said, in a rush for a less powerful but export-compliant chip amid US restrictions on trade with
[6]
ByteDance, Alibaba, Tencent Place Massive $35 Billion NVIDIA Order - NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA)
NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) has received more than $35 billion in chip orders from Chinese technology giants ByteDance, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE:BABA) and Tencent Holdings Ltd. (OTC:TCEHY). Reuters reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter, that the companies ordered more
[7]
ByteDance, Alibaba, Tencent place over US$35 billion worth of Nvidia chip orders: Reuters exclusive
ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have ordered more than three million of Nvidia's new RTX PRO 5500 graphics cards with a collective sticker price of over US$35 billion, two people familiar with the matter said, in a rush for a less powerful but export-compliant chip amid U.S. restrictions on trade
[8]
Chinese tech giants are buying Nvidia gaming chips for AI. Here's why.
STORY: :: Why are Chinese tech giants buying billions of dollars of Nvidia gaming chips to repurpose for AI? "This is a story both about sustained AI demand coming out of the world's second largest economy, amid a computing shortage that is persistent and it shows no signs of easing significantly,
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ByteDance, Alibaba, Tencent place over $35 billion worth of Nvidia chip orders
Oct 20 (Reuters) - ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have ordered more than 3 million of Nvidia's new RTX PRO 5500 graphics cards with a collective sticker price of over $35 billion, two people familiar with the matter said, in a rush for a less powerful but export-compliant chip amid US restrictions
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ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent have ordered over 3 million Nvidia RTX PRO 5500 workstation graphics cards worth more than $35 billion. Nvidia warns it can deliver only 5-10% of orders as demand far exceeds production capacity, highlighting China's AI ambitions despite US export controls.
Chinese Tech Giants Place Massive Nvidia Chip Orders
ByteD ance, Alibaba, and Tencent have placed Nvidia chip orders exceeding $35 billion for more than 3 million RTX PRO 5500 workstation graphics cards, according to sources familiar with the matter
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. The three Chinese tech giants are paying approximately $11,400 per card, reflecting their determination to secure AI hardware despite ongoing US export restrictions1
. This massive procurement underscores China's AI ambitions and the persistent appetite for Nvidia hardware among Chinese companies racing to develop cutting-edge AI models.Nvidia Warns of Severe Supply Shortages
Nvidia has told customers and partners it cannot guarantee full delivery of the orders because demand from Chinese technology companies far exceeds planned production
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. One source revealed that Nvidia told partners they might receive only 5% to 10% of the quantities requested3
. Another source indicated the company could produce no more than 3 million RTX PRO 5500 cards globally in 2027, while total orders from customers in China have exceeded 6 million2
. These production constraints stem from Nvidia's manufacturing priorities, as the company is expected to devote much of its capacity at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co to Rubin, its next-generation platform for large-scale data centers, starting in 20275
.RTX PRO 5500 Emerges as Export-Compliant Alternative
The Nvidia RTX PRO 5500 is a workstation chip designed for powerful professional computers rather than the large data-center clusters that use Nvidia's most advanced AI processors
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. It remains among the most powerful Nvidia chips available to Chinese buyers under current regulations. The Blackwell-based B300 data-center chip is not allowed to be sold to Chinese buyers under US export controls, while exports of the Hopper-based H200 are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and subject to licensing conditions1
. The RTX Pro 5500 features the same number of CUDA cores as Nvidia's flagship RTX 5090 GPU but includes 84GB of GDDR7 memory, making it suitable for AI applications1
.Chinese Companies Target AI Inference Tasks
The Chinese companies plan to use the workstation graphics cards primarily for AI inference, or running trained models to generate chatbot responses, according to three sources
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. AI inference tasks generally require less computing power than training models on massive datasets, making the RTX PRO 5500 a viable option despite being less powerful than Nvidia's H200 and B300 chips designed for the most demanding AI training and deployment workloads5
. The RTX PRO 5500 performs similarly to the RTX 6000D, which Nvidia launched in mid-2024 as a reduced-capability product designed to meet US export restrictions4
.Shifting Attitudes Amid Persistent Restrictions
Major Chinese tech firms initially showed little interest in the RTX 6000D when Nvidia introduced it last year, with some declining to place orders entirely
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. Buyers viewed the chips as overly expensive given their capabilities and hoped Washington would eventually allow sales of more powerful Nvidia processors. Those expectations have faded as restrictions have remained in place and AI computing capacity has remained scarce, making the RTX PRO 5500 a more attractive substitute, according to two sources5
. Nvidia has since stopped making the RTX 6000D, and its price in China has doubled3
.Related Stories
Geopolitical Tensions Shape AI Hardware Market
An Nvidia spokesperson stated that Chinese producers of workstation chips and cards have experienced "unprecedented growth since 2022," when the curbs were first imposed
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. The spokesperson added, "US firms continue to be restricted by a combination of outdated US export controls, which cover gaming products released nearly a half a decade ago, and China's own limit on US imports"3
. Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang has said the restrictions reduced Nvidia's share of China's AI data-center chip market from a near monopoly to effectively nothing5
. However, demand for the RTX PRO 5500 suggests Nvidia retains a sizeable potential market in China through less powerful products that remain available.Domestic Alternatives Gain Traction
Washington's curbs have pushed Chinese firms toward domestic suppliers, while Beijing has encouraged the use of homegrown chips
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. Huawei, in particular, has gained market share as a domestic alternative, though Chinese chipmakers have generally struggled to match leading American products, partly because separate restrictions have limited access to the foreign equipment used to make the most advanced semiconductors2
. Alibaba unveiled its Zhenwu V900 chip in September as part of this shift toward homegrown solutions3
. Shenzhen-listed Tansun Technology said in an October 13 filing that it would buy 20,000 RTX PRO 5500 cards, warning that shortages and overseas technology controls could delay deliveries or cut volumes3
. Nvidia has advised customers that the first RTX PRO 5500 samples should arrive in December, with commercial deliveries expected from the first quarter of 20274
.References
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