Impact of US Semiconductor Export Controls... Nvidia Supplies GPUs Meeting Standards to China

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] U.S. semiconductor company Nvidia has confirmed that it is replacing the graphics processing units (GPUs) it supplied to China with products that comply with the Biden administration's semiconductor export control standards to China, Bloomberg News reported on the 7th (local time).

According to the report, Nvidia has replaced the A100 GPU model previously supplied to China with the A800 GPU and began producing and supplying it from the third quarter. Nvidia explained, "The A800 resolves the U.S. government's export control issues and cannot be reprogrammed to bypass them." Experts interviewed by foreign media evaluated that the A800 has lower data center operational capabilities compared to the existing A100 product.

Nvidia's move follows the U.S. Department of Commerce's ban in August on exports of AI GPUs to China for Nvidia and another U.S. semiconductor company, AMD. Nvidia stated that under this measure, it cannot sell the AI semiconductor A100 and another high-performance GPU, the H100, to Chinese customers without special approval from the U.S. government. The H100 is used not only for AI but also in cloud computing and smart automotive fields.

One foreign media outlet described the A800 semiconductor as "the first official effort by a U.S. semiconductor company to comply with the new U.S. trade regulations."

Nvidia's action appears to reflect the company's inability to give up its major Chinese customers, who are significant players in the semiconductor industry. Nvidia stated that due to the U.S. government's export restrictions to China, approximately $400 million (about 550 billion KRW) in revenue for the third quarter of fiscal year 2022, which ended in October, is expected to be affected. Jensen Huang, Nvidia's CEO, emphasized at the annual GTC conference on September 20 that exports of the H100 to China are impossible, but "China is a very important and valuable market for Nvidia, and we will provide Chinese companies with alternatives to the H100." Nvidia is scheduled to announce its earnings on the 16th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.