China has instructed some of its tech companies to suspend orders of Nvidia’s (NVDA) H200 GPUs until the government decides whether to allow the chips to be sold in the country, according to a report by The Information.
The move is aimed at preventing companies from stockpiling the GPUs ahead of the government’s final decision. Officials are also reportedly deliberating what conditions, if any, should be applied if the chips are approved for sale.
Companies such as ByteDance (BDNCE) and Alibaba (BABA) had been considering orders of H200 GPUs, while Nvidia has reportedly been in contact with Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) to boost production.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said he does not expect a formal announcement from the Chinese government regarding the sale of H200 chips. “It’s just going to be purchase orders. If the purchase orders come, it’s because they’re able to place them,” he said.
The H200, a predecessor to Nvidia’s current Blackwell GPUs and upcoming Vera Rubin chips, was among advanced AI chips approved for sale to China last year under former U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.
Nvidia CFO Colette Kress confirmed that license applications for the H200 have been filed, and the Chinese government is still deciding on approval. Despite the uncertainty, Huang described global demand for the chips as strong.
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