Reported by Qianer Liu and Eleanor Olcott in Hong Kong, and Tim Bradshaw in London

As the US sought to constrain China’s AI development, the Biden administration blocked sales of the A100 and H100 GPUs in October 2022. In response, Nvidia developed two alternative models for China, the A800 and H800, which fell below the performance threshold set by US sanctions. But the US last month tightened its restrictions so that they also caught the A800 and H800.

The latest export restrictions took effect immediately as the US government speeded up the deadline, leaving Chinese tech groups dependent on outdated and stockpiled chips to pursue their AI ambitions. The rules were seen as forcing Chinese groups to turn to six-year-old technology to develop AI systems. 

But Nvidia, which has held a dominant share of China’s AI chip market, is moving quickly too. The manufacturing process of its latest chips for China was less complex than the development of the A800 and H800, said a person familiar with the situation. Nvidia has already sent samples of the chips for customers to test, suggesting it expects mass production to begin very soon, according to two people close to the company. 

In the interim, Chinese companies have redoubled their efforts to source AI chips from domestic suppliers, reducing the risk of relying on Nvidia and accommodating the escalating AI chip ban. Prominent Chinese Nvidia competitors include Huawei, Cambricon and Biren. The founder of Chinese AI company iFlytek said in August that Huawei’s Ascend AI chip could achieve performance comparable to Nvidia’s A100.

Read full report: https://www.ft.com/content/045878a7-a75a-47b9-bc7f-115ea1025c5b