The Biden administration has imposed new restrictions on the sale of some computer chips for China and Russia, the US government’s latest effort to use semiconductors as a tool to thwart rivals’ advances in areas such as high-performance computing and artificial intelligence.
The new limits affect high-end chip models known as graphics processors or GPUs, sold by companies Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices in Silicon Valley. Such products were originally developed to display images in video games but have been widely deployed in the last decade. biggest supercomputer used by scientists and internet companies for applications such as speech recognition and image objects.
Supercomputers are used in applications including weapons development and intelligence gathering, and several major systems in China have related to surveillance of the country’s Muslim minorities. AI technology is also increasingly being used for purposes such as facial recognition in video images.
Restrictions are part of Cold War between China and the United States to lead in advanced technology. The Biden administration, building on limits begun under former President Donald J. Trump, has adopted measures to limit the access of companies such as Huawei of China to produce advanced chips and foreign semiconductors. China has designed many of its own chips, but generally relies on factories in Taiwan to produce the most advanced models.
In statements on Wednesday, Nvidia and AMD acknowledged the new limitations.
Nvidia, by far the largest GPU manufacturer, speak The federal government will now require it to seek export licenses to sell two high-end chips used with server systems in data centers. The government said the new requirement would address the risk that such products could be used or diverted for military use in China and Russia, according to the company.
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Nvidia has many customers in China, but is not currently selling to Russia. It said the new measures affected a business that generated about $400 million in revenue in its most recent fiscal quarter.
AMD says these measures appear to affect the sale of one of its high-end GPUs to China and Russia. It said it did not believe the restrictions would have a significant effect on its business.
China’s Ministry of Commerce on Thursday accused the United States of abusing export controls to restrict exports of semiconductor-related items to China and warned that the move would “obstruct trade and international scientific and technological change and economic cooperation, and have an impact on the stability of global industrial and supply chains and the recovery of the world economy. “
A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said Washington’s actions were “typical of scientific and technological hegemony”.
The scope of action by the US government seems to extend beyond Nvidia and AMD. Companies that make other design tools or software have received similar letters in recent weeks notifying them that high-end technologies they export to China have been restricted, according to an acquaintance. Depending on the situation, the person requested anonymity for private discussion. consideration.
A spokesman for the Commerce Department said it was conducting a review of China-related policies and may introduce new measures to keep advanced technologies out of the wrong hands.
Without commenting specifically on chip restrictions, the spokesperson said possible future steps include “preventing China’s purchase and use of US technology in the context of a military integration program- their civilian populations to promote military modernization efforts, commit human rights abuses, and enable other malicious activities. “
In recent years, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security has tightened restrictions on the supply of certain US technology to China, arguing that goods are sold through civilian supply chains. military but ultimately geared toward military uses, such as weapons, aircraft, and surveillance technology. . Companies can request permits to sell restricted items to specific customers, but most of those applications are denied.
The statements from Nvidia and AMD indicate that they do not expect licenses to be issued in most cases. AMD said it expects measures to “prevent” the sale of a product called the MI250 to China and Russia.
Nvidia said the measures affected an existing product, the A100, as well as one expected to be available later this year, the H100. It added that the restrictions could affect the A100’s ability to complete development of the H100 in time or support existing A100 customers and may require the company to move certain operations out of China.
The measures come at a difficult time for Nvidia. Demand for GPUs used in video games and crypto mining has plummeted, and in early August Nvidia posted quarterly revenue that was much lower than forecast in May.
Shares of Nvidia fell more than 6% late Wednesday after confirming new government restrictions, which had been the subject of earlier articles in Chinese news outlets.
Paul Mozur and Alexandra Stevenson contributed reporting.
