Nvidia asks some cloud customers to reduce business with Chinese companies
Nvidia has asked some cloud customers to reduce business with Chinese companies and to disclose the identity of end users using its chips; the guidance is not mandatory and applies only to future contracts. According to reports by The Information and the Financial Times, this request was communicated orally through sales representatives and regional teams, aiming to encourage cloud providers, including Nvidia-invested neoclouds, to develop a more diversified customer structure. The move targets a gap in U.S. export controls: current rules restrict chip shipments but generally do not cover remote access through cloud services, so Chinese AI developers can rent computing power in overseas data centers to use advanced Nvidia chips.
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The report disclosed gaps in export controls regarding remote access to cloud services, as well as the specific approach by which Nvidia intervenes in customer structure in a non-mandatory manner.
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Nvidia has told some cloud customers to take on less business from Chinese companies. The guidance is meant to push cloud providers, including Nvidia-backed neoclouds, toward a more diverse customer mix, The Information reports , citing three people familiar with the matter.
The directive isn't mandatory and applies to future contracts, not existing deals. Cloud customers are also being asked to disclose the identity of end users accessing the chips. According to the Financial Times , the instruction was communicated verbally through sales reps and regional teams.
The move targets a gap in U.S. export controls. The rules restrict chip shipments but generally don't cover remote access through cloud services. That lets Chinese AI developers tap advanced Nvidia chips by renting compute capacity at data centers abroad, without ever importing the hardware. U.S. authorities had been looking into Chinese AI companies accessing such chips through foreign data centers after allegations surfaced involving Moonshot AI, the developer behind the Kimi chatbot.