ByteDance, Alibaba, Tencent place over $35 billion worth of Nvidia chip orders

Three of China's largest tech firms – ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent – have placed orders for over 3 million Nvidia graphics cards worth more than $35 billion, two sources familiar with the situation said. The cards, the RTX PRO 5500, are less powerful than Nvidia's most advanced AI processors but still among the most powerful chips available to Chinese buyers.

This rush for export-compliant chips comes amid US restrictions limiting the sale of Nvidia's most advanced AI processors to Chinese buyers. Nvidia has told customers they cannot guarantee fulfillment of the orders due to far exceeding demand, with some predicting the company could produce just 3 million RTX PRO 5500 cards globally in 2027.

The orders, exceeding 6 million in total, underscore Chinese companies' hunger for Nvidia hardware despite US curbs. US restrictions reduced Nvidia's share of China's AI data-center chip market from near monopoly to virtually none, but the RTX PRO 5500 suggests Nvidia retains a potential market through less powerful products still available.

The surge in demand highlights how US restrictions have tightened computing-power supplies in China as companies race to develop cutting-edge AI models. Nvidia's Blackwell-based B300 data-center chip is not allowed to be sold to Chinese buyers under US export controls, while exports of its Hopper-based H200 are subject to licensing conditions.

The RTX PRO 5500 is designed for powerful professional computers rather than large data-centre clusters and is among the most powerful Nvidia chips still available to Chinese buyers. Chinese firms are primarily using the cards for AI inference, requiring less computing power than training models on massive datasets. Nvidia has indicated it could deliver early samples in December with commercial deliveries starting in the first quarter of 2027, but the ability to meet the full demand remains uncertain.