Alibaba created its own artificial intelligence chip / Depositphotos
Chinese tech giant Alibaba has developed its own, more versatile artificial intelligence chip in response to US export restrictions blocking access to Nvidia's cutting-edge chips.
This is reported by Delo.ua with reference to a Reuters publication.
The new chip, currently undergoing testing, was made in China, unlike Alibaba's previous AI processor, which was made in Taiwan.
Chinese technology companies, including Alibaba, are increasing their focus on their own technologies as Nvidia faces regulatory hurdles in selling its products in the country.
Response to sanctions
Nvidia's most powerful AI chip approved for sale in China, the H20, was temporarily blocked earlier this year.
Although sales have resumed, Chinese companies, including Alibaba and ByteDance, are actively working on alternative processors capable of replacing H20.
The Chinese government is also pressuring tech giants to build up their own technological capabilities.
The H20 chip, specifically designed for the Chinese market after US export restrictions in 2023, is inferior in computing power to chips such as the Nvidia H100 or the Blackwell series.
Alibaba, China's largest cloud company and a key Nvidia customer, has been making significant progress, recently reporting 26% growth in cloud revenue for the second quarter, beating market expectations.
As a reminder, American chip giants Nvidia and AMD have agreed to give the US government 15% of their revenue from chip sales to China. This agreement is a condition for obtaining export licenses.
