DeepSeek AI’s covert use of 50,000 Nvidia H100 chips has sent shockwaves through the tech industry, stirring controversy and raising questions about U.S. export controls. Despite stringent regulations limiting the availability of these high-performance GPUs to China, the startup has reportedly gained access to them, prompting concerns about compliance and transparency.
According to Alexandr Wang, CEO of Scale AI, DeepSeek employees are restricted from discussing the chips due to U.S. regulations. This revelation has impacted financial markets, with Nvidia’s shares plunging 16.9%, dragging down other tech stocks and leading to the Nasdaq composite’s largest loss in over a month, falling by 3.1%.
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While it was initially assumed that DeepSeek was using Nvidia’s less powerful H800 chips, Wang confirmed that the startup is in fact utilizing the banned H100 GPUs. “DeepSeek has about 50,000 H100s, which they can’t talk about due to export controls,” Wang told CNBC. Elon Musk appeared to back this claim, responding “obviously” to a post referencing Wang’s interview.
Though the use of these restricted chips has caused controversy, DeepSeek’s model remains highly competitive. Chinese startups like DeepSeek and Qwen are challenging U.S. dominance in the AI field, raising concerns about the future of U.S. regulations as Chinese innovation continues to push global boundaries.
