Trading Blows: AI Chip Export Restrictions and Global Tech Giants
AMD intends to manufacture AI chips in accordance with export regulations, planning for the Radeon AI PRO 9700's release in the third quarter of 2025 for the Chinese market.
In a game of cat and mouse, AMD and Nvidia are dancing around escalating U.S. export controls, modifying their flagship AI chips to cater to the Chinese market.
Leading the way, AMD's Radeon AI PRO R9700 is on the horizon, set for release in the third quarter of 2025. This chip, built for local AI inference and other workloads, is scalable for multi-GPU setups. It's a watered-down version of its powerful counterparts, crafted to slip past Washington's scrutiny.
Nvidia's response to these regulations comes in the form of the Nvidia B20, an AI chip based on the latest Blackwell architecture. However, its compute and memory dies have been scaled back to toe the line with the White House's regulations on AI chip exports to China.
The trade tensions have left both Nvidia and AMD in a bind. Nvidia's CEO, Jensen Huang, admitted that the company took a staggering $5.5-billion hit as it could no longer deliver the H20 chip to its Chinese customers. AMD, likewise, suffered a $800-million loss due to the MI308's excessive power according to the White House.
But China, a significant player in the global AI chip market, is still hungry for Nvidia and AMD's offerings. Despite being diluted versions of their high-performance AI GPUs, sales of Nvidia's H20 rose by 50% each quarter. The less-powerful Nvidia B20 and Radeon AI PRO R9700 are expected to face similar demand as many AI models are optimized for these specific systems.
"AI researchers are still chugging away in China. Without Nvidia, they'll go mobile and leverage their homegrown tech," Huang stated in a recent interview. "Local companies are brimming with talent and determination, thanks to export controls. They've been given a boost, empowered to develop faster. Export controls were a bust - the facts say so."
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Behind the Scenes: Trends in AI Chip Export Regulations
A Shift in Policy
In an abrupt about-face, the Trump Administration has reversed the AI Diffusion Rule proposed by the Biden Administration. This policy, set to take effect on May 15, 2025, aimed to restrict the global sale of advanced U.S. AI chips [1][2]. The decision was primarily motivated by concerns that the rule could stifle innovation and impede global market access, eventually impacting U.S. diplomatic efforts [1][2].
Stepped-Up Export Controls
Advanced AI chips, particularly those destined for Chinese companies like Huawei, are now under tighter export controls. The use of certain Huawei Ascend AI chips falls under U.S. export controls due to suspicions of unauthorized use of U.S.-origin technology [1][2].
Implications for Nvidia and AMD
Strict export controls on high-end AI chips, such as the A100 and H100, necessitate Commerce Department licenses for export to China and other D:5 countries [3]. Companies like Nvidia and AMD must dance around these restrictions while ensuring compliance with evolving U.S. export policies.
Fallout in the Global Market
These shifting regulations can impact sales and market strategies for these companies in China. Navigating these restrictions while staying compliant with ever-changing U.S. export policies is a delicate dance.
The Competitive Edge
The recent policy changes may allow companies like Nvidia and AMD to maintain their edge in AI technology globally, balancing national security concerns with economic interests. However, this could also fuel increased competition and challenges in the Chinese market due to the restrictions imposed on Chinese companies.
source: https://www.tomshardware.com/news/radeon-ai-pro-r9700-china- export-controls-amd,74384.html
In the evolving landscape of AI chip export regulations, both AMD and Nvidia are trying to maintain their competitive edge by dialing back their flagship AI chips' performance to cater to the Chinese market. For instance, Nvidia's Nvidia B20 and AMD's Radeon AI PRO R9700 are designed to slip past Washington's scrutiny while still meeting the demands of the Chinese market, fueling artificial-intelligence advancements in the country (artificial-intelligence).
The latest Turnaround by the Trump Administration, reversing the proposed AI Diffusion Rule, suggests a shift in policy concerning the global sale of advanced U.S. AI chips, including those designed by the likes of Nvidia and AMD, with potential implications for both market access and national security (technology and artificial-intelligence).
