China bans tech firms from buying Nvidia chips

Push for semiconductor independence intensifies

Chinese regulators conclude domestic processors have achieved parity with the performance of Nvidia's export-compliant models

China's top internet regulator has barred the country's largest technology companies from purchasing AI chips made by Nvidia.

Three people familiar with the matter told the Financial Times that the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has instructed companies including ByteDance and Alibaba to halt orders and testing of Nvidia's RTX Pro 6000D, a product specifically tailored for the Chinese market.

The order forced several firms, which had already initiated large-scale testing and verification processes with Nvidia's server suppliers, to abruptly suspend their plans.

Some companies had been preparing to acquire tens of thousands of the high-performance processors.

An earlier regulatory guidance had focused primarily on Nvidia's H20, another China-only chip widely deployed in AI development.

According to sources, Chinese regulators concluded that domestic processors have now achieved parity with, and in some cases surpassed, the performance of Nvidia's export-compliant models.

Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang, speaking to reporters in London on Wednesday, acknowledged the company's growing difficulties in China, adding that he expected to raise the issue with US President Donald Trump during the president's state visit to the UK that evening.

"We can only be in service of a market if the country wants us to be," Huang said.

"I'm disappointed with what I see."

The CAC's order signals Beijing's determination to strengthen its own semiconductor ecosystem as competition with Washington intensifies over control of AI technology.

Regulators have recently summoned Chinese chipmakers including Huawei and Cambricon, alongside major platform operators like Alibaba and Baidu, both of which design chips in-house, to compare their processors with Nvidia's China-limited offerings.

Officials concluded that domestic hardware was capable of meeting the country's needs.

The clampdown comes after Washington, under former President Joe Biden, banned Nvidia from exporting its most advanced processors to China in an effort to slow Beijing's AI ambitions.

Nvidia subsequently rolled out modified chips such as the H20 and, more recently, the RTX Pro 6000D, which debuted during Huang's visit to Beijing in July.

At the time, the company described the chip as suitable for tasks such as automated manufacturing. It was also the last Nvidia product permitted for significant sales in China. However, Beijing's regulators soon began pressuring local firms to justify purchases of the H20, questioning why companies would opt for foreign-made processors over domestic alternatives.

Last month, the Financial Times reported that officials had even warned against buying the chip, intensifying the government's push for "self-reliance."

Nvidia unveils £11bn UK AI investment

In related news, Nvidia yesterday announced a £11bn investment to expand Britain's AI ecosystem, including the creation of Europe's largest GPU cluster by 2026.

The Silicon Valley chipmaker said it will work with partners including Microsoft, US-based cloud specialist CoreWeave, and London-headquartered Nscale to establish sovereign computing infrastructure in Britain, a capability increasingly viewed as essential to national competitiveness.

"We're enabling our partners to deploy 300,000 GPUs globally, and 60,000 of those will be in the UK," David Hogan, Nvidia's vice president for enterprise in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

"Together with CoreWeave, that totals 120,000 GPUs deployed here by the end of 2026."

The announcement builds on a pledge by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in June at London Tech Week to deepen collaboration with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

At the time, Huang praised the UK's AI potential but warned it lacked sovereign compute capacity to fully seize the generative AI boom.

The £11bn package comes amid a surge of global tech investment into Britain's infrastructure. Google confirmed earlier this week that it would spend £5bn to expand its UK cloud operations.

Microsoft has also announced a $30bn investment in UK AI infrastructure.