Nvidia has secured approval from Beijing to sell its second-most advanced AI chips in China and is also developing a version of its Groq AI chip tailored for the Chinese market, sources said.
The long-awaited regulatory approval paves the way for the U.S. chipmaker to resume sales of the H200 chips, which have emerged as a major flashpoint in U.S.-China relations, in a market that once generated 13% of Nvidia's total revenue.
Despite strong demand from Chinese firms and U.S. approval for exports, Beijing's hesitation to allow imports has been the main barrier to shipments of the H200 chips to China.
Earlier on Tuesday, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said that it had been licensed for 'many customers in China' for the H200 and had received purchase orders from 'many' companies, allowing it to resume production of the chip.
The company had halted production last year of the chip because of increasing regulatory hurdles in the U.S. and China, according to a report at the time.
Nvidia had been waiting for licenses from both the U.S. and China for months. It has received some U.S. approvals, and a source familiar with the matter said the company had now also received licenses for many customers in China from Beijing.
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington said they were 'not aware of the specifics,' and directed questions to 'the competent authorities.'
A Chinese company source said that they did not know if the Chinese government had given final approval, but that Nvidia had told them that they could now place purchase orders.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission late last month, Nvidia said that the U.S. had granted a license in February that would allow 'small amounts of H200 products to specific China-based customers.'
Nvidia Readies Groq Chip For China
Nvidia is also preparing a version of the Groq AI chip that can be sold to the Chinese market, Reuters reported earlier on Tuesday, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
It plans to tap Groq chips for what is known as inference, where AI systems answer questions, write code or carry out tasks for users. In the products Nvidia showed this week, the company plans to use its forthcoming Vera Rubin chips, which cannot be sold in China, in combination with the Groq chips.
While Nvidia dominates the market for training AI systems, it faces much more competition in the inference market. Several major Chinese firms, including AI heavyweights such as Baidu, already produce their own inference chips.
The chips being readied for China are not downgraded versions or made specifically for the Chinese market, one of the sources told Reuters. But the new variant can be adapted to work with other systems, the source said, adding that the Groq chip is expected to be available in May.
(With inputs from Reuters)