The Biden administration is pushing some advanced computers to China and Russia in the latest attempt by the US government to use semiconductors as tools to sabotage competitors’ progress in areas such as high-performance computing and artificial intelligence. New restrictions have been imposed on the sale of chips.
The new limit affects high-end models of chips called graphics processing units (GPUs) sold by Silicon Valley companies Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices. Such products were originally developed for rendering images in video games, but over the past decade, the largest number of products used by scientists and Internet companies for applications such as speech and recognizing objects in pictures. Widely deployed in supercomputers.
Supercomputers are used in applications such as weapons development and intelligence gathering, and several large-scale systems in China have been linked to surveillance of the country’s Muslim minority. The use of AI technology is also progressing, such as identifying faces in videos.
The restrictions are part of the Cold War between China and the United States over technological supremacy. The Biden administration has taken steps aimed at limiting access to advanced chip and foreign semiconductor manufacturing by companies such as China’s Huawei, building on restrictions initiated under former President Donald J. Trump. adopted. China has designed many chips on its own, but generally relies on factories in Taiwan to manufacture cutting-edge models.
In a statement Wednesday, Nvidia and AMD acknowledged the new limits.
Nvidia, by far the largest GPU maker, Said The federal government will seek export licenses to sell two high-end chips used in data center server systems. The company said the government said the new requirements would be in place to address the risk of these products being used for military purposes or diverted to China and Russia.
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Nvidia has many customers in China, but currently does not sell to Russia. The new measures, it said, impacted a business that generated about $400 million in revenue in its most recent fiscal quarter.
AMD said the move appears to have affected sales to China and Russia of one of its high-end GPUs. He said he did not believe the restrictions would have a material impact on the company’s business.
The government’s scope of action appears to extend well beyond Nvidia and AMD. Other companies that make tools and design software have also received similar letters in recent weeks informing them of restrictions on the high-end technology they export to China, according to people familiar with the matter. Deliberation.
A spokesman for the Commerce Department said it is reviewing policies related to China and may take new steps to keep advanced technology out of the wrong hands.
Without specifically commenting on the chip restrictions, the spokesperson said possible future steps include “to facilitate military modernization efforts, commit human rights abuses, and enable other malicious activities.” “This includes preventing China from acquiring and using U.S. technology in the context of military-civilian fusion programs.” “
Over the past few years, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security has tightened restrictions on the supply of certain U.S. technologies to China, and while goods were sold through private supply chains, they were ultimately sold to weapons, aircraft, and more. , claims it was used for military applications such as surveillance technology. Companies can request licenses to sell restricted items to specific customers, but most of those applications are denied.
Statements from Nvidia and AMD indicate that, in most cases, they did not expect to be licensed. AMD has said it expects measures to “prevent” the sale of its product, called MI250, to China and Russia.
According to Nvidia, the move affected its existing product, the A100, as well as its upcoming product, the H100, which is due to launch later this year. Restrictions could impair the company’s ability to timely complete H100 development or support existing A100 customers, and could require the company to move certain operations out of China. added.
This move comes at a tough time for Nvidia. Demand for GPUs used for playing video games and mining cryptocurrencies dropped sharply, and in early August, he said Nvidia posted quarterly earnings, well below its May forecast.
Nvidia shares fell more than 6% late Wednesday after confirming new government restrictions that were the subject of an earlier story in the Chinese news outlet.
Paul Moseur contributed to the report.