Chinese AI firms rush to secure Nvidia chip capacity as scandal stirs fear of curbs

Chinese AI companies are scrambling to secure Nvidia chip capacity in data centers outside China, fearing that a scandal involving Nvidia's CEO, Jensen Huang, could lead to tighter U.S. restrictions on their remote use of advanced processors, according to three sources familiar with the situation. The concern stems from the possibility of a gap in U.S. export controls being closed, which would enable Chinese companies to access Nvidia's most advanced AI chips remotely.

While U.S. export controls already restrict the export of Nvidia's most advanced AI chips to China, companies can still access these processors remotely by renting computing power at data centers overseas. A major Chinese cloud provider has reportedly discussed with internal teams whether to secure overseas Nvidia chip capacity, and some companies have already contacted data-center operators about reserving this capacity.

The sources did not provide their names or identify the cloud provider due to the sensitivity of the matter.