China OKs DeepSeek’s Nvidia H200 Chip Purchase

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Regulatory Green Light for DeepSeek With Pending Conditions

China has provided preliminary approval for its leading artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek to purchase Nvidia’s H200 AI chips, subject to regulatory conditions that are still being finalized, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters in Singapore.

The conditional nod for DeepSeek follows earlier reporting that other major Chinese technology groups were also cleared to buy the advanced processors. The final details of the restrictions tied to those approvals are still under discussion, the sources said.

Approvals for Top Chinese Tech Firms

According to a Reuters report on Wednesday citing sources, ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have been allowed to jointly purchase more than 400,000 units of Nvidia’s H200 chips. The latest information indicates that DeepSeek has now received similar clearance, though on a conditional basis.

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Ministry of Commerce have granted approvals for all four companies, the sources said. However, they emphasized that these approvals come with conditions that have yet to be fully defined.

One of the people familiar with the process said those specific conditions are being determined by China’s state planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Commerce and the NDRC did not respond to requests for comment.

Nvidia’s Response and Export Dynamics

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in Taipei on Thursday that the company had not received information about the reported approvals. He added that he believed China was still in the process of finalizing the relevant license. Nvidia did not respond to a request for comment on the reported authorization for DeepSeek.

The H200, described as Nvidia’s second most powerful AI chip, has become a central point of tension in U.S.-China relations. Demand from Chinese firms is strong and U.S. authorities have allowed exports, but Beijing’s reluctance to approve imports has been the key obstacle to shipments so far.

Earlier this month, the United States formally cleared Nvidia to sell the H200 into the Chinese market, where interest in the chip remains high. Nonetheless, Chinese regulators retain ultimate authority over whether these chips can actually be imported.

DeepSeek’s Position in the AI Landscape

DeepSeek drew global attention in the technology sector early last year when it released AI models that it said could be developed at a fraction of the cost of those offered by U.S. competitors such as OpenAI. The company did not respond to a request for comment regarding its reported H200 approval.

The startup is expected to roll out its next-generation AI model, V4, in mid-February, The Information reported earlier this month. That model is projected to feature strong coding capabilities, according to the same report.

U.S. Scrutiny Over DeepSeek and Nvidia

Any purchases of H200 chips by DeepSeek could attract further examination from U.S. lawmakers. Reuters reported on Wednesday that a senior U.S. lawmaker had alleged that Nvidia had assisted DeepSeek in refining AI models that were subsequently used by the Chinese military, according to a letter sent to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Overview of Approved Buyers