Exclusive: PLA Sought Nvidia AI Chips & Robot Dogs in Leaked Procurement Docs

China's military-industrial complex just got caught with its hands in the cookie jar—and the cookies were next-gen AI hardware.

The silicon arms race heats up

Leaked procurement documents reveal the People's Liberation Army attempted to acquire cutting-edge Nvidia chips—the same GPUs powering Western AI breakthroughs—alongside militarized robot dogs. Because nothing says 'peaceful rise' like autonomous quadrupeds packing heat.

Sanctions? What sanctions?

The PLA's shopping list reads like a banned technology bingo card, with AI server components and unmanned systems topping the chart. Meanwhile, Wall Street still thinks trade restrictions will magically make China abandon tech supremacy dreams—how's that semiconductor short position working out?

This isn't procurement—it's a hardware heist in broad daylight. And the real question isn't whether they'll get these chips, but how many generations ahead they already are in black-market silicon.

China pursues banned GPUs in defense deals

According to the Chinese military documents, one of the bids requested H20 cards, while another called for four RTX 6000 GPUs as part of an intelligent decision-making support system. A provisional supplier for the RTX 6000 chips had already been selected in June, but the contract details were still pending finalization. 

Another bid from the same month was requested for the H100 graphics card, which was banned from 2022, citing specific requirements for the original packaging and on-site installation. A similar request was made in July 2024 for the H100 GPUs. 

One project from April shows the military requesting a 33-pound robotic dog be fitted with an Nvidia Jetson computing module for a training program. The request was canceled later, although Jetson modules are generally not restricted for most uses. It remains unclear whether either of those chips was successfully submitted.

In an exclusive interview with Business Insider, Ryan Fedasiuk, a former U.S. State Department advisor, revealed that the PLA can acquire restricted technology through indirect means. He added that there are ample shortcuts, subsidiaries, and shell companies that the PLA can and does not use to source those chips maliciously from American companies, including Nvidia.

A Nvidia spokesperson stated that China has more than enough domestic chips for its military applications and that buying a small number of older chips to test U.S. competition is not a national security concern. The spokesperson also insisted that restricted products WOULD lack support, software, and maintenance. 

U.S. policymakers push to reinstate the Nvidia chip ban

Nvidia has faced pressure from the Chinese government with a summons from the Chinese internet regulator. Nvidia was summoned on Thursday to address allegations of backdoor security risks in its H20 AI chips, but they denied the claims. 

The U.S. recently lifted the ban on the H20 chips, effectively allowing Nvidia to resume selling them to China. However, the lift has sparked concerns among U.S. security officials, and a group of 20 policymakers recently drafted a letter to the Commerce Department urging it to reimpose the ban on the H20 AI chips. The policymakers argued that the chips could support China’s military.

Craig Singleton, senior director at the Foundation of Defense Democracies, co-signed the letter and warned that the policy reversal could create floodgates. The Commerce Department said it has already tightened controls compared to the previous administration and would continue reviewing all license applications carefully. 

In July, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang revealed in an interview with CNN that the Chinese military would likely avoid relying on U.S. technology due to its unpredictability. The Chinese Ministry of National Defense has not yet responded with any comment.

Ryan Fedasiuk, who reviewed some of the procurement documents, said the PLA and Chinese AI firms prefer Nvidia hardware because of its superior processing power. He believes nobody can beat Nvidia, and Huawei is not close.

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