Nvidia Corp. (NVDA.O), a U.S. chip manufacturer, announced on Monday that it is now providing a new, sophisticated semiconductor in China that complies with current export control regulations intended to prevent China from obtaining cutting-edge technology.
In response to Reuters’ claims that Chinese computer vendors are promoting devices containing the new chip, Nvidia issued a statement.
The A800 chip is the first publicly known attempt by a U.S. semiconductor business to develop cutting-edge processors for China that adhere to new U.S. trade regulations. According to Nvidia, the export restrictions might result in a loss of income of hundreds of millions of dollars.
In an effort to cripple China’s semiconductor sector and, in turn, the military, the United States implemented laws in early October that virtually forbade the export of sophisticated microchips and the machinery used to build advanced chips by Chinese chipmakers.
Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices Inc AMD.O both announced in late August that the U.S. Commerce Department had placed their advanced processors, including Nvidia’s data center chip A100, to the export control list. Both the Nvidia A800 and the Nvidia A100 are GPUs, or graphics processing units.
Over if the Commerce Department was consulted regarding the new processor, Nvidia declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the Department of Commerce declined to comment.
The A800 chip is available in products from major server manufacturers on at least two Chinese websites. The A100 chip has already been featured in advertising for one of those goods.
