DeepSeek plans to make its own AI chips to sidestep US export controls and reduce Nvidia reliance
11 Sources
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Facing US export controls, China's DeepSeek plans to make its own chips
DeepSeek, the Chinese startup developing large language models that are competitive with those from US companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, is planning to enter the silicon business, according to Reuters. Citing three people familiar with the matter, Reuters writes that DeepSeek has been working
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EXCLUSIVE: China's DeepSeek developing its own AI chip, sources say
July 7 (Reuters) - Chinese startup DeepSeek is developing its own AI chip, according to three people familiar with the matter, a push that could reduce its reliance on Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab and Huawei chips, which it has depended on to train and run its globally popular models. The chip
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Reuters: DeepSeek is developing its own AI chips - Engadget
It is reportedly hiring engineers and speaking to manufacturers. DeepSeek, the Chinese AI company which sometimes keeps tech executives awake at night, is reportedly looking to build its own silicon. Reuters' (via USNews) sources suggest DeepSeek is looking to build a chip for inference, which is
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DeepSeek is reportedly designing its own AI chip to sidestep US curbs
A design is not a working chip, but a Chinese lab with the talent and the motive is said to be trying to build one. DeepSeek is designing its own artificial-intelligence chip, according to a Reuters report published on Monday that cited people familiar with the matter. The move, if it holds up,
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Report: China's DeepSeek follows OpenAI in developing its own custom inference chips
Report: China's DeepSeek follows OpenAI in developing its own custom inference chips DeepSeek Ltd., one of China's most visible artificial intelligence companies, is pushing to design its own, in-house silicon aimed at inference workloads, according to a report by Reuters today. The report cites
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Exclusive-China's DeepSeek Developing Its Own AI Chip, Sources Say
July 7 (Reuters) - Chinese startup DeepSeek is developing its own AI chip, according to three people familiar with the matter, a push that could reduce its reliance on Nvidia and Huawei chips, which it has depended on to train and run its globally popular models. The chip is designed for
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China's DeepSeek developing its own AI chip
The chip is designed for inference - the stage of AI computing in which a trained model generates responses for users - rather than for training new models, sources said. Chinese startup DeepSeek is developing its own AI chip, according to three people familiar with the matter, a push that could
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DeepSeek Is Reportedly Building Its Own Inference Chip to Break Free From Both NVIDIA and Huawei
China's premier AI firm, DeepSeek, is reportedly working on its own AI chip, which will primarily be an inference accelerator. Step Aside NVIDIA & Huawei, China's DeepSeek Prepares Its Own AI Inference Chip DeepSeek, the leading AI firm which is based in China, has started developing its own AI
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DeepSeeks Looks To Sidestep Huawei As It Begins In-House AI Chip Journey While Dodging Development Complications, Trade Sanctions, Delays & More
AI chips from Huawei and NVIDIA are currently being leveraged to train and run DeepSeek's popular models, but the days of this arrangement could be numbered as the Chinese startup has plans in motion to launch its in-house inference silicon. According to people familiar with the firm's plans, the
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China's DeepSeek developing its own AI chip, sources say - The Korea Times
Chinese startup DeepSeek is developing its own AI chip, according to three people familiar with the matter, a push that could reduce its reliance on Nvidia and Huawei chips, which it has depended on to train and run its globally popular models. The chip is designed for inference -- the stage of AI
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DeepSeek is now reportedly designing its own chip: a bid to cut Nvidia reliance
Reuters says it's targeting inference as export controls tighten DeepSeek, the Chinese AI startup, is reportedly working on its own inference chip, the part that spits out answers when you ask a model something, Reuters reports. If that holds, it's a real change in direction: less dependence on
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Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is developing its own AI chip for inference workloads, marking a strategic shift for the company behind globally popular models. The year-long effort aims to reduce dependence on Nvidia and Huawei amid US export controls that have reshaped China's semiconductor landscape. DeepSeek joins OpenAI and other AI leaders in seeking greater control over their hardware stack.
DeepSeek developing its own AI chip amid geopolitical constraints
DeepSeek, the Chinese AI startup that gained global attention with its cost-efficient models, is now developing its own AI chip according to three people familiar with the matter
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. The move represents a major strategic shift for a company that has emphasized AI model breakthroughs over commercialization, and it could reshape the competitive dynamics in China's $50 billion domestic AI chip market2
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Source: Wccftech
The chip is designed specifically for inference rather than training, targeting the stage where trained models generate responses for users
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. This focus makes strategic sense as roughly 70 percent of AI compute demand now comes from inference rather than training, making custom inference chips critical for companies looking to commercialize their models at scale4
.Effort to reduce reliance on Nvidia and Huawei hardware
The initiative aims to reduce DeepSeek's dependence on foreign hardware, particularly Nvidia and Huawei chips that the company has relied on to train and run its models
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. US export controls have prevented Nvidia from selling its most advanced chips to China, creating an opening that Huawei has exploited to capture around half of the domestic AI chip market1
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.DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng acknowledged in a 2024 interview that chip export controls posed challenges for the company
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. The company's R1 model, which triggered a rout in US tech stocks in January 2025, was trained on Nvidia's H800 chips designed for the Chinese market before Washington banned them in late 20232
. Since then, DeepSeek has leaned increasingly on Huawei, releasing its V4 model adapted for Huawei's Ascend chips in April2
.Early-stage effort with significant manufacturing hurdles
The effort to sidestep US curbs remains at an early stage, with DeepSeek reaching out to external partners and holding discussions with chip-design, foundry and memory companies
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. The project began about a year ago, and the Hangzhou-based company has quietly increased hiring of chip-design engineers in recent months without posting jobs on public platforms2
.Reports suggest the chip would be fabricated by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), China's largest foundry, rather than Taiwan's TSMC
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. However, SMIC faces significant constraints as US and Dutch export controls have cut off access to the most advanced chipmaking tools, leaving the foundry stuck on a 7-nanometer process several generations behind the leading edge4
. Semiconductor manufacturing challenges are compounded by separate US curbs that have limited China's access to high-bandwidth memory, a component critical to AI inference chips2
.Related Stories
Following OpenAI and global trends in silicon chip business
DeepSeek's push into the silicon chip business mirrors moves by US-based AI companies seeking greater control over their technology stacks. OpenAI recently unveiled Jalapeno, its first custom inference chip developed with Broadcom, while Anthropic has been weighing building its own AI chips
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. For OpenAI, the goal is partly to reduce dependence on Nvidia but also to gain Apple-like control over the entire tech stack, while securing advantages in a market where data center access remains constrained1
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Source: Korea Times
In China's domestic market, Huawei's hold is already weakening as tech rivals Alibaba and Baidu develop their own AI chips and gain market share
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. DeepSeek's entry into this race adds another competitor seeking domestic alternatives to foreign suppliers.Funding and strategic implications for China's AI ambitions
Money appears no longer a constraint for the ambitious project. DeepSeek recently raised $7 billion in its maiden funding round, valuing the company between $52 billion and $59 billion, reversing its yearslong strategy of rejecting external investment
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. This capital infusion provides resources needed for the costly, multi-year undertaking of designing competitive AI accelerators.
Source: Softonic
Beijing has been pressing technology champions to build domestic alternatives as part of broader efforts to create a fully Chinese AI stack from model to chip
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. If successful, DeepSeek's expansion into semiconductor development would mark progress toward that goal, though significant technical hurdles remain. The company's R2 model was repeatedly delayed after training runs failed on Huawei hardware, forcing reliance back on Nvidia GPUs for training while reserving Chinese chips for inference—precisely the division of labor the new chip would serve4
. Whether DeepSeek can overcome supply chain constraints and foundries limitations to produce working silicon at competitive yields remains an open question that will determine if this strategic bet pays off.References
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