Big Chinese tech companies like ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent have ordered at least $16 billion worth of Nvidia’s H20 server chips in the first three months of 2025, as per latest media reports.
These chips help run artificial intelligence (AI) programs, and their popularity has surged since DeepSeek is making affordable AI models that have turned into an overnight global sensation. Two people who know about the deals have shared this information with Reuters.
Back in February, many Chinese companies were rushing to buy the H20 chip because it’s the best AI chip Nvidia can legally sell in China. Further, in the year 2023, the US framed rules on exporting chips to China, and these rules stopped Nvidia from selling its most powerful chips there.
The U.S. implemented these rules as it was worried that China might use the AI chips to make military tech. The H20 chip might be difficult to get soon, though. Further, this year in February, President Trump also said he plans to add a 25% tax on imported chips, which could affect things more.
As per the reports, Nvidia’s boss, Jensen Huang, said that, “This won’t hurt them much right now, but over time, they might consider moving their chip-making operations to the United States.”
Additionally, H3C, a big Chinese company that makes servers with Nvidia chips, said in March that there could be a shortage of H20 chips in the future. A shortage could potentially hinder the ability of H3C and other Chinese AI companies to progress their AI projects.
H3C works with Nvidia, along with other companies like Inspur, Lenovo, and xFusion. The U.S. has been blocking Nvidia’s top chips from going to China since 2022.
Further, on 1st March, Singapore police arrested three men, charging them with fraud in a scheme to smuggle NVIDIA GPUs to China. At that time, Nvidia denied all accusations, saying that billing locations do not represent the actual destination of GPUs.
However, China is still a big deal for Nvidia; they made $17.11 billion there in 2025, including Hong Kong.
Also Read: Singapore Police Arrests 3 For Smuggling NVIDIA GPU to China
