Chinese AI firms rush to pre-book Nvidia chip capacity over fears of tighter US restrictions

Chinese AI companies pre-booking Nvidia chip capacity amid fears of tighter US restrictions

November 12

Chinese AI companies, worried that the US will tighten restrictions on advanced technology following the personal scandal surrounding Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, are trying to pre-book Nvidia-powered computing capacity at overseas data centers, Reuters reported.

Currently, the US bans direct exports of advanced Nvidia chips to China, but Nvidia chip capacity can still be accessed through overseas data centers.

However, Chinese tech companies are also making preparations in advance because the RASA bill, which would also control such access via cloud systems, may continue to be approved in the US Senate.

In addition, amid fears that US restrictions will become tighter, demand for export-restricted Nvidia AI chips has also risen in China's black market, and purchases and stockpiling of Nvidia AI chips in advance by traders and brokers have also increased, Reuters reported.

Also last month, a Chinese university linked to the Chinese military purchased Nvidia's powerful H200 AI chips even though it is on the US export restriction list, Reuters reported, citing purchase records.

In addition, US government prosecutors have charged three people, including Super Micro Computer co-founder Yih-Shyan "Wally" Liaw, over allegations that servers containing Nvidia chips were illegally transferred to China through a Southeast Asia-based company.

The company allegedly bought about US$2.5 billion worth of servers from Super Micro between 2024 and 2025, and many of them were transferred to China, it is said.

Ref & Photo: Reuters

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