Nvidia DeepSeek controversy erupts as US lawmaker links technical support to China military AI

Nvidia says Chinese military dependence on American tech would be 'nonsensical,' following US govt agency's claims it assisted Deepseek with training AI models -- says Admin's critics 'are unintentionally promoting the interests of foreign competitors'

"America should always want its industry to compete for vetted and approved commercial businesses, and thereby protecting national security, creating American jobs, and keeping America's lead in AI." AI giant and GPU maker Nvidia has issued a strong response following claims that it provided technical assistance to DeepSeek to improve its training efficiency. The company said it would be "nonsensical" for China's military to depend on American technology, following a Reuters report on a letter sent to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. In a statement of response provided to Tom's Hardware, Nvidia said, "China has more than enough domestic chips for all of its military applications, with millions to spare. Just like it would be nonsensical for the American military to use Chinese technology, it makes no sense for the Chinese military to depend on American technology." Nvidia further stated, "The Administration's critics are unintentionally promoting the interests of foreign competitors--America should always want its industry to compete for vetted and approved commercial businesses, and thereby protecting national security, creating American jobs, and keeping America's lead in AI." The company's statement doesn't directly address the specific allegations made by Moolenaar of technical assistance. It also does not address the claims in the letter, which specifically state that DeepSeek-V3 was training using Nvidia H800 chips, which is further outlined in DeepSeek's V-3 Technical Report. The original report, citing a breakthrough in efficiency gains training DeepSeek-V3, claims that Representative John Moolenaar, chair of the House Select Committee on China, wrote a letter to Lutnick claiming that "documents obtained by the committee from Nvidia showed the achievement came after extensive technical assistance from Nvidia." Specifically, the letter purportedly states that "According to NVIDIA records, NVIDIA technology development personnel helped DeepSeek achieve major training efficiency gains through an 'optimized co-design of algorithms, frameworks, and hardware." It further claims that an internal report boasted of a significant improvement in GPU hours required for full training of DeepSeek-V3, specifically using just 2.788M H800 GPU hours. The report claims that models honed with the help of Nvidia were "later used by the Chinese military." According to Reuters, the documents pertain to activities from 2024, and Moolenaar admitted that at the time the alleged assistance was provided, there was no public indication that China's military was using DeepSeek's technology. "Nvidia treated DeepSeek accordingly - as a legitimate commercial partner deserving of standard technical support," is said to have written. Nvidia has previously spoken against export controls against its chips, arguing that China could even "win the AI race" as a result of such measures and the country's favorable energy infrastructure.

Exclusive: Nvidia helped DeepSeek hone AI models later used by China's military, lawmaker says

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 28 (Reuters) - U.S. chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab helped China's DeepSeek hone artificial intelligence models that were later used by the Chinese military, the chairman of a U.S. House of Representatives committee said in a letter seen by Reuters on Wednesday. DeepSeek shook markets early last year with a set of AI models that rivaled some of the best offerings from the United States but were developed with far less computing power, fuelling concerns in Washington that China could catch up with the U.S. in AI despite U.S. restrictions on the sale of high-powered computing chips to China. In a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Representative John Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican who chairs the House Select Committee on China, said documents obtained by the committee from Nvidia showed the achievement came after extensive technical assistance from Nvidia. "According to NVIDIA records, NVIDIA technology development personnel helped DeepSeek achieve major training efficiency gains through an 'optimized co-design of algorithms, frameworks, and hardware,' with internal reporting boasting that 'DeepSeek-V3 requires only 2.788M H800 GPU hours for its full training' - less than what U.S. developers typically require for frontier-scale models," Moolenaar wrote in the letter. GPU hours are the number of hours an AI chip must run to train an AI model, while frontier-scale models refer to leading models produced by U.S. firms such as OpenAI, Anthropic or Alphabet's Google. The documents cover Nvidia activities from 2024. At the time Nvidia provided DeepSeek help, Moolenaar wrote, there was no public indication that DeepSeek's technology was being used by China's military. "Nvidia treated DeepSeek accordingly - as a legitimate commercial partner deserving of standard technical support," Moolenaar wrote. Nvidia's H800 chip was specifically designed for the China market and sold there before H800s were put under U.S. export controls in 2023. Reuters reported last year that U.S. officials believe DeepSeek is aiding China's military. "China has more than enough domestic chips for all of its military applications, with millions to spare. Just like it would be nonsensical for the American military to use Chinese technology, it makes no sense for the Chinese military to depend on American technology," Nvidia said in a statement. The U.S. Commerce Department and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. DeepSeek did not respond to a request for comment outside of business hours in China. Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration approved sales of Nvidia's H200 to China with some restrictions, including that the chips not be sold to entities that assist the Chinese military. The H200 is more powerful than the H800 chips DeepSeek used. Trump's decision drew fire from China hawks across the U.S. political spectrum over concerns the chips would supercharge Beijing's military and erode the U.S. advantage in AI. "If even the world's most valuable company cannot rule out the military use of its products when sold to (Chinese) entities, rigorous licensing restrictions and enforcement are essential to prevent such assurances from becoming superficial formalities," Moolenaar wrote. "Chips sales to ostensibly non military end users in China will inevitably result in a violation of the military end use restrictions," he added. Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Nia Williams Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Nvidia helped DeepSeek hone AI models later used by China's military, lawmaker says

DeepSeek shook markets early last year with a set of AI models that rivaled some of the best offerings from the United States but were developed with far less computing power, fuelling concerns in Washington that China could catch up with the U.S. in AI despite U.S. restrictions on the sale of high-powered computing chips to China. U.S. chipmaker Nvidia helped China's DeepSeek hone artificial intelligence models ⁠that were later used by the Chinese military, the chairman of a U.S. House of Representatives committee said in a letter seen by Reuters on Wednesday. DeepSeek shook markets early last year with a set of AI models that rivaled some of the best offerings from the United States but were developed with far less computing power, fuelling concerns in Washington that China could catch up with the U.S. in AI despite U.S. restrictions on the sale of high-powered computing chips to China. In a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Representative John Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican who chairs the House Select Committee on China, said documents obtained by the committee from Nvidia showed the achievement came after extensive technical assistance from Nvidia. "According to NVIDIA records, NVIDIA technology development personnel helped DeepSeek achieve major training efficiency gains through an 'optimized co-design of algorithms, frameworks, and hardware,' with internal reporting boasting that 'DeepSeek-V3 requires only 2.788M H800 GPU hours for its full training' - less than what U.S. developers typically require for frontier-scale models," Moolenaar wrote in the letter. GPU hours are the number of hours an AI chip must run to train an AI model, while frontier-scale models refer to leading models produced by U.S. firms such as OpenAI, Anthropic or Alphabet's Google. The documents cover Nvidia activities from 2024. At the time Nvidia provided DeepSeek help, Moolenaar wrote, there was no public indication that DeepSeek's technology was being used by China's military. "Nvidia treated DeepSeek accordingly - as a legitimate commercial partner deserving of standard technical support," Moolenaar wrote. Nvidia's H800 chip was specifically designed for the China market and sold there before H800s were put under U.S. export controls in 2023. Reuters reported last year that U.S. officials believe DeepSeek is aiding China's military. "China has more than enough domestic chips for all of its military applications, with millions to spare. Just like it would be nonsensical for the American military to use Chinese technology, it makes no sense for the Chinese military to depend on American technology," Nvidia said in a statement. In a statement, Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the U.S., said: "China has all along opposed moves to overstretch the concept of national security or politicize trade and tech issues. We hope the U.S. can take concrete actions to keep global industrial and supply chains stable." The U.S. Commerce ⁠Department did not immediately respond to a ⁠request for comment. DeepSeek did not respond to a request for comment outside of business hours in China. Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration approved sales of Nvidia's H200 to China with some restrictions, including that the chips not be sold to entities that assist the Chinese military. The H200 is more powerful than the H800 chips DeepSeek used. Trump's decision drew fire from China hawks across the U.S. political spectrum over concerns the chips would supercharge Beijing's military and erode the U.S. advantage in AI. "If even the world's most valuable company cannot rule out the military use of its products when sold to (Chinese) entities, rigorous licensing restrictions and enforcement are essential to prevent such assurances from becoming superficial formalities," Moolenaar wrote. "Chips sales to ostensibly non military end users in China will inevitably result in a violation of the military end use restrictions," he added.

Nvidia Aided China's DeepSeek In Advancing Powerful AI Models Later Linked To Military Use, House Committee Chair Alleges: Report - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

A U.S. lawmaker has alleged that Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) provided technical assistance to Chinese AI startup DeepSeek. Nvidia Technical Support Allegedly Boosted DeepSeek's Efficiency Nvidia helped DeepSeek improve the efficiency of its artificial intelligence models, according to a letter sent to the U.S. Commerce Department by Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), chair of the House Select Committee on China. The letter, seen by Reuters on Wednesday, says documents obtained by the committee show that Nvidia's engineers helped DeepSeek improve its AI by optimizing algorithms, software and hardware. This allowed DeepSeek to train powerful models using far fewer computing resources than U.S. developers usually need, Moolenaar wrote. The representative wrote that internal Nvidia records claimed DeepSeek's AI training required just 2.788 million GPU hours using Nvidia's H800 chips. Nvidia, China Push Back As Chip Policy Debate Intensifies In a statement to Benzinga, Nvidia said China does not rely on U.S. chips for military use. "China has more than enough domestic chips for all of its military applications," the company said, adding it would make little sense for Beijing to depend on American technology. "The Administration's critics are unintentionally promoting the interests of foreign competitors," the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. In a statement to Reuters, China's embassy in Washington criticized the allegations, accusing the U.S. of politicizing trade and technology issues. DeepSeek's AI Breakthrough Raises US Security Concerns DeepSeek drew global attention early last year after unveiling AI models that rivaled leading U.S. systems despite being developed with far less computing power. The breakthrough intensified concerns in Washington that China could narrow the AI gap even as the U.S. restricts exports of advanced chips. U.S. officials have since said they believe DeepSeek's technology has been used to support China's military, though Moolenaar acknowledged there was no public evidence of military links at the time Nvidia provided assistance. "Nvidia treated DeepSeek accordingly -- as a legitimate commercial partner deserving of standard technical support," Moolenaar wrote. Trump Approves Limited Nvidia H200 Chip Sales To China The dispute comes as the Donald Trump administration approved restricted sales of Nvidia's newer H200 chips to China. The move drew bipartisan criticism. "Chips sales to ostensibly non-military end users in China will inevitably result in violations of military end-use restrictions," Moolenaar warned. Under the new framework unveiled earlier this month, Chinese buyers must show they have adequate security measures in place and formally confirm that the chips will not be used for military purposes. Meanwhile, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has said that Chinese approvals would appear in customer orders rather than through public announcements. The company has also tightened its commercial terms, now requiring Chinese buyers to pay in full upfront and agree to strict contract conditions. Price Action: On Wednesday, Nvidia closed at $191.52, up 1.59% and fell 0.64% to $190.29 in after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro. Nvidia shows strong price momentum across short, medium and long-term periods, despite a low value ranking, according to Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings. Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo Courtesy: Hepha1st0s on Shutterstock.com Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Nvidia helped DeepSeek hone AI models later used by China's military: U.S. lawmaker

U.S. chipmaker Nvidia helped China's DeepSeek hone artificial intelligence models that were later used by the Chinese military, the chairman of a U.S. House of Representatives committee said in a letter on Wednesday. DeepSeek shook markets early last year with a set of AI models that rivaled some of the best offerings from the United States but were developed with far less computing power, fueling concerns in Washington that ⁠China could catch up with the U.S. in AI despite U.S. restrictions on the sale of high-powered computing chips to China. In a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Rep. John Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican who chairs the House Select Committee on China, said documents obtained by the committee from Nvidia showed the achievement came after extensive technical assistance from Nvidia.

Nvidia helped DeepSeek hone AI models later used by China's military, lawmaker says

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 28 (Reuters) - U.S. chipmaker Nvidia helped China's DeepSeek hone artificial intelligence models that were later used by the Chinese military, the chairman of a U.S. House of Representatives committee said in a letter seen by Reuters on Wednesday. DeepSeek shook markets early last year with a set of AI models that rivaled some of the best offerings from the United States but were developed with far less computing power, fuelling concerns in Washington that China could catch up with the U.S. in AI despite U.S. restrictions on the sale of high-powered computing chips to China. In a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Representative John Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican who chairs the House Select Committee on China, said documents obtained by the committee from Nvidia showed the achievement came after extensive technical assistance from Nvidia. "According to NVIDIA records, NVIDIA technology development personnel helped DeepSeek achieve major training efficiency gains through an 'optimized co-design of algorithms, frameworks, and hardware,' with internal reporting boasting that 'DeepSeek-V3 requires only 2.788M H800 GPU hours for its full training' - less than what U.S. developers typically require for frontier-scale models," Moolenaar wrote in the letter. GPU hours are the number of hours an AI chip must run to train an AI model, while frontier-scale models refer to leading models produced by U.S. firms such as OpenAI, Anthropic or Alphabet's Google. The documents cover Nvidia activities from 2024. At the time Nvidia provided DeepSeek help, Moolenaar wrote, there was no public indication that DeepSeek's technology was being used by China's military. "Nvidia treated DeepSeek accordingly - as a legitimate commercial partner deserving of standard technical support," Moolenaar wrote. Nvidia's H800 chip was specifically designed for the China market and sold there before H800s were put under U.S. export controls in 2023. Reuters reported last year that U.S. officials believe DeepSeek is aiding China's military. "China has more than enough domestic chips for all of its military applications, with millions to spare. Just like it would be nonsensical for the American military to use Chinese technology, it makes no sense for the Chinese military to depend on American technology," Nvidia said in a statement. The U.S. Commerce Department and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. DeepSeek did not respond to a request for comment outside of business hours in China. Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration approved sales of Nvidia's H200 to China with some restrictions, including that the chips not be sold to entities that assist the Chinese military. The H200 is more powerful than the H800 chips DeepSeek used. Trump's decision drew fire from China hawks across the U.S. political spectrum over concerns the chips would supercharge Beijing's military and erode the U.S. advantage in AI. "If even the world's most valuable company cannot rule out the military use of its products when sold to (Chinese) entities, rigorous licensing restrictions and enforcement are essential to prevent such assurances from becoming superficial formalities," Moolenaar wrote. "Chips sales to ostensibly non military end users in China will inevitably result in a violation of the military end use restrictions," he added. (Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Nia Williams)