american semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices Bloomberg’s AI chips destined for China fail to pass U.S. regulators, requiring export license application reported on Tuesday.
The report said AMD designed chips with lower performance than its premium products in order to comply with U.S. export regulations. However, Bloomberg reported that the Commerce Department did not approve the chip for sale in China because it was still too advanced.
According to the report, AMD will now need to obtain a license from the Ministry of Industry and Security.
It is unclear whether the company will apply for a license. AMD and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.
The United States has restricted the sale of products containing the country’s most advanced semiconductor technology to China, citing national security concerns, but American companies have been forced to sell mature and less advanced technologies without licensing. continues to sell to large-scale markets.
AMD’s products include chips that can be used to develop and train AI models, which U.S. officials have warned could be used by the Chinese government to gain military advantage. There is.
In 2022, the administration of US President Joe Biden announced the first in a series of export controls to limit access to China’s advanced semiconductor technology. Major AI chip company Nvidia It later announced it would sell a slowed-down version of its premium AI chip that complies with U.S. regulations.
But those chips were also banned in October, when the U.S. expanded regulations to cover more technologies and chips deemed to be circumventing regulations.
NVIDIA has since redesigned its products to be less powerful for the Chinese market in line with the 2023 regulations.
Ahead of the October ban, Nvidia said further U.S. restrictions on semiconductor exports to China risked “permanent loss” for U.S. semiconductor companies that lead one of the world’s largest markets. I was warning you.
In Nvidia’s November earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress said that China and other regions subject to U.S. export restrictions have consistently accounted for about 20% of data center revenue over the past several quarters. He said it contributed from 25% to 25%. While Nvidia reported strong fourth-quarter results, Kress noted in an earnings call in February that data center revenue from China had declined significantly due to U.S. export restrictions.
Compared to Nvidia, AMD had a smaller foothold in the Chinese AI chip market before the trade restrictions. However, the company has started targeting the AI chip market more aggressively, launching its new MI300 product line, which is seen as a challenge to Nvidia’s GPU products.
It’s not clear which Chinese customers AMD designed the chip for. Some of China’s biggest technology companies, such as Tencent, are reportedly stockpiling enough advanced chips from Nvidia to train the capabilities of their own AI chatbots.At least for a few more generations. ”
Meanwhile, Huawei, which has faced U.S. sanctions, is reportedly developing its own chips and chip-making tools along with other domestic companies as Chinese companies seek to fill the gap created by U.S. regulations. .
Despite restrictions on sales to China, Nvidia and AMD stock prices are soaring amid the AI frenzy. Nvidia has soared over 250% over the past year, and AMD has soared over 150%.