Chinese Tech Giants Defy Beijing Pressure to Secure Nvidia’s AI Chips
Alibaba, ByteDance, and Tencent continue to pursue Nvidia's H20 AI chips despite political tensions, underscoring the irreplaceable role of U.S. semiconductor technology in China's tech ecosystem. The H20—a deliberately downgraded variant compliant with U.S. export controls—remains a critical tool for AI development, even as Washington mandates 15% revenue sharing from its sales.
Nvidia's upcoming B30A chip, touted to double the H20's performance, could further entrench its dominance. Market dynamics reveal a stark reality: Chinese firms prefer adapting to restricted Nvidia products over fully transitioning to domestic alternatives like Huawei, exposing the limitations of geopolitical decoupling efforts.