Nvidia Corporation’s NVDA high-end artificial intelligence chips are reportedly available for rent at lower rates in China than in the US, despite the existing export restrictions.
What Happened: Small Chinese cloud providers are offering local tech groups access to servers equipped with eight Nvidia A100 processors for approximately $6 per hour, Financial Times reported on Friday. In comparison, similar services in the U.S. cost around $10 per hour. This pricing suggests a significant supply of Nvidia chips in China, indicating a possible bypass of U.S. restrictions aimed at limiting access to advanced technologies.
Despite the ban on shipping Nvidia’s most powerful AI accelerators, the A100 and H100, to China since fall 2022, these products are readily available in the country. They are openly advertised for sale on Chinese social media and ecommerce platforms, including Xiaohongshu and Alibaba’s Taobao, at slightly higher prices than abroad.
Nvidia has stated that it sells its processors “primarily to well-known partners . . . who work with us to ensure that all sales comply with U.S. export control rules.”
Why It Matters: This development follows Nvidia’s reported efforts to create a new version of its flagship AI chip specifically for the Chinese market in July. The following month Nvidia’s advanced AI chips were reaching the Chinese military, despite US trade restrictions.
China’s massive investments in chipmaking, surpassing the U.S., Taiwan, and South Korea combined in September, could be a contributing factor to the availability and affordability of Nvidia’s AI chips in the country.
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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari
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