Chinese Tech Firms Order $35 Billion Nvidia GPUs
Reuters reported on Oct. 20 (local time), citing three sources who requested anonymity, that three major Chinese technology companies, including ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent, have ordered more than 3 million units of Nvidia’s RTX PRO 5500, which is not subject to United States export controls.The
Reuters revealed on October 20 that ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent, three prominent Chinese tech firms, placed orders for more than 3 million Nvidia RTX PRO 5500 GPUs. The cost per unit stands at $11,400, totaling $35 billion. Despite not being high-performance AI processors, the RTX PRO 5500 is the most powerful Nvidia GPU legally purchasable in China, circumventing US export controls.
The US blocked sales of Nvidia’s Blackwell-based B300 and Hopper-based H200 for data centers in China. However, these restrictions may encourage local companies to avoid purchasing the H200 due to Chinese protests and the imposed 25% tariff. Reuters learned that Nvidia could fulfill only 5% to 10% of the demand. It is worth noting that Nvidia could only produce 3 million units in 2027, but China’s order has surpassed 6 million.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced that the company’s market share in China’s AI data center semiconductor market, once dominant, has now dropped to zero. Chinese firms aim to use the Nvidia chips for AI inference, which demands less computing power than model training. The RTX PRO 5500's performance is comparable to Nvidia's earlier customized RTX 6000D for China.
Chinese firms likely postponed purchases amid high prices and awaited US sanctions relaxation before opting for the RTX PRO 5500. However, Reuters anticipates that the supply of the RTX PRO 5500 will become increasingly scarce as Nvidia plans to transfer production from RTX PRO 5500 to its upcoming Rubin platform in 2027.
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