China's $3.2bn AI projects name banned Nvidia chips, Reuters finds
Contracts and procurement notices across China, including an $873m Fujian AI centre, cite Nvidia's restricted H100 and H200 processors.
Chinese AI computing projects and equipment deals worth more than 23 billion yuan (about $3.2 billion) explicitly reference Nvidia chips banned under US export controls, according to a Reuters review published on 13 November.
The records name Nvidia's restricted H100, H200 and H800 processors and cover planned investments, awarded contracts and operating computing facilities in provinces including Fujian, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia and Gansu. The review does not establish whether, or how, the chips were actually delivered to each project.
The largest example is a 6.2 billion yuan ($873 million) AI centre in Fujian whose requirements call for H100 processors. In Shaanxi, a 3 billion yuan project linked to state-owned Sinomach involves H100 and H200 chips, and a Gansu facility won a 1.16 billion yuan contract in July for 3,072 of them.
Nvidia has said export controls have effectively locked it out of China's AI data-centre market. Washington began restricting advanced AI chip exports to China in 2022 and has tightened the rules several times since.
Source: Crypto Briefing
