Nvidia may have a ‘plan’ to bypass US export rule for AI chips
Nvidia is reportedly planning to tweak the design of its artificial intelligence (AI) chips to avoid U.S. export rules. According to a report by The Information, the chip maker has told some of its biggest Chinese customers including Alibaba Group, TikTok-parent ByteDance and Tencent Holdings about it. The report quotes three people involved in the conversations who said that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has already informed customers about his plans while on his trip to Beijing.
Huang visited Beijing in mid-April, just days after the U.S. government tightened restrictions on the export of advanced AI chips to China.
What the US export rules say
The latest rules targeted Nvidia’s H20 chip — the main product the company had specifically designed to meet earlier U.S. regulatory requirements.
Under the new regulations, even chips like the H20, which were previously cleared for sale in China, are now restricted because they still offer computing power considered too advanced. The U.S. government has said the measures aim to prevent China’s military from accessing cutting-edge AI technology.
What Nvidia says
Nvidia had said that the new export controls would impact its business significantly, warning of a $5.5 billion hit to revenue. Despite these setbacks, Nvidia continues to explore ways to maintain its presence in the Chinese market while staying within regulatory limits.
As per The Information report, Nvidia has told customers that a sample of the new chip will be available as soon as June. The company is also working on a China-specific version of its latest-generation AI chip, Blackwell.
