By Mark Bergen
Publication Date: 2025-12-10 13:12:00
(Bloomberg) — Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek has relied on Nvidia Corp. chips that are banned in the country to develop an upcoming AI model, according to a new report in The Information.
Nvidia’s Blackwell chips were smuggled into China through countries that permitted their sale, The Information reported, citing unnamed sources. More specifically, DeepSeek tapped chips that were installed in data centers in unspecified countries, then dismantled and shipped to China after clearing inspection by companies developing server equipment, The Information said.
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The US bans the sale of these advanced semiconductors to China, which has led AI developers there to access the hardware through data centers located outside of the mainland or subterfuge. In November, US prosecutors charged two Chinese nationals and two US citizens with a scheme to ship chips to China by way of Malaysia using a fake real estate business.
A representative for DeepSeek didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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DeepSeek drew global attention in January when it debuted an AI model that was competitive with Silicon Valley’s best and said it had built it at a fraction of the cost. The startup was funded by the Chinese hedge fund High-Flyer, which had amassed 10,000 Nvidia GPUs in 2021, prior to US bans on exports of sophisticated Nvidia chips and other…
