Chinese AI firms still use Nvidia computing power despite US chip restrictions

Washington has a pretty obvious problem with its Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) restrictions. It can stop the company’s most powerful chips from being shipped directly into China, but that does not necessarily stop Chinese AI companies from using them.

If those processors are sitting inside a data center somewhere else, a Chinese developer can potentially pay to use the computing power remotely. Nvidia makes many of the fastest processors used to train AI systems, so the U.S. has made chip export controls a major part of its effort to stay ahead of China.

Nvidia’s GB300 is among the products that cannot currently be sold into China, but some less powerful chips can still be exported there.

But Chinese companies have reportedly been getting access to more advanced computing through cloud services running from other countries, including locations in Southeast Asia.

Chinese AI companies rent Nvidia computing power from data centers outside China

The problem is current U.S. restrictions are mainly focused on who buys the chip, where the chip is shipped and who physically has it. They do not automatically stop a company in China from paying to use a machine that is sitting in another country.

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