Nvidia to sell new chip in China it says meets US export ban

Nvidia Corp., the most valuable chipmaker in the US, has begun producing a processor for China that conforms to new rules aimed at limiting that country’s access to artificial-intelligence computing.

The A800 GPU, or graphics processing unit, went into production in the third quarter and serves as an alternative to the A100 model, Nvidia said in a statement Monday. “The A800 meets the US government’s clear test for reduced export control and cannot be programmed to exceed it,” the Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker said.

Nvidia jarred investors earlier this year when it said that it was banned from selling the A100 and forthcoming H100 products to Chinese customers without special US government approval. The change put hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue at risk. The US is concerned that the processors might be used by the military, Nvidia said in a regulatory filing in August.

The Biden administration expanded the restrictions last month, escalating tensions between the two countries and adding fresh hurdles for US chipmakers already facing a slump in demand. Nvidia has lost more than half its value this year, following three straight years of gains. 

Data centers rely on graphics chips like Nvidia’s to handle AI tasks and process huge sets of information. The US government’s rules on China exports place a cap on the speeds that such chips can communicate with each other, thereby limiting their usefulness.

Reuters previously reported that Nvidia had begun offering the A800.