Nvidia has addressed reports that the Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek may be using smuggled Blackwell chips to develop its next-generation AI model. The U.S. government currently prohibits the export of Nvidia’s most advanced Blackwell chips to China to maintain technological leadership in artificial intelligence.
A spokesperson for Nvidia said: “We haven’t seen any substantiation or received tips of ‘phantom data centers’ constructed to deceive us and our [original equipment manufacturer] partners, then deconstructed, smuggled and reconstructed somewhere else. While such smuggling seems far-fetched, we pursue any tip we receive.”
The report, published by The Information, has raised concerns across the U.S. tech sector because DeepSeek has previously demonstrated its ability to develop competitive AI models at a fraction of the cost of U.S. rivals. In January, the company released its reasoning model, R1, which quickly rose to the top of app stores and industry leaderboards.
DeepSeek has also indicated that China plans to develop its own “next generation” chips to support domestic AI systems, signaling growing ambitions in the field.
Nvidia has been a major beneficiary of the AI boom, supplying graphics processing units that are critical for training models and managing large computational workloads. The company’s relationship with China has become a politically sensitive issue, with U.S. lawmakers closely monitoring exports of advanced hardware.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump announced that Nvidia could ship its H200 chips to “approved customers” in China and other countries, with the condition that the U.S. receives 25 percent of those sales. The move sparked criticism from some Republican officials who view the policy as controversial.
The controversy highlights the tension between maintaining U.S. technological advantage in AI and managing commercial relationships abroad. While Nvidia continues to lead the AI hardware market, the emergence of startups like DeepSeek underscores the growing competition and the potential risks associated with technology leakage.
Nvidia’s response clarifies that the company has not verified the claims of smuggling but remains attentive to any credible leads. The company continues to monitor the situation as Washington and Beijing navigate the intersection of technology, trade, and national security.
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