Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek reportedly using banned Nvidia Blackwell chips to build upcoming model: The Information

Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up DeepSeek has reportedly used Nvidia’s Blackwell chips, which are banned in China, to build its upcoming AI model, Bloomberg reported, citing independent tech and business news publication The Information.

Anonymous sources reportedly told the publication that the chips were smuggled into China through countries that permitted their sale. Servers containing the chips were dismantled before arriving in the country, the sources added.

A representative for DeepSeek has not yet commented on the matter.

The start-up, which shook the AI industry earlier this year, gained global attention for releasing an AI model that rivaled US tech giants at a fraction of the cost. It is backed by Chinese hedge fund High-Flyer, which had acquired 10,000 Nvidia GPUs in 2021, before the US imposed export restrictions on advanced Nvidia chips.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that Nvidia can now sell its H200 chips to “approved customers” in China, while specifying that the newer Blackwell and Rubin chips are not part of the deal. 

However, analysts flagged the US President’s move as a “significant strategic mistake” that could shrink the US’s advantage in terms of compute over China in the AI race.

DeepSeek released a new model in September and said it was collaborating with Chinese chipmakers on its development. /TISG

Read also: Sam Altman signals OpenAI’s desire to partner with China after DeepSeek disrupts the AI market

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