Nvidia said it has restarted production of its H200 chips aimed at the Chinese market, as it has reportedly received long-awaited regulatory approvals from the Chinese government to sell the chips to customers in the country.
At a press conference, Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang said the H200 had been licensed for “many customers in China” and had received purchase orders from “many” companies, allowing production to resume.
“Our supply chain is getting fired up,” Huang told the 17 March conference.
‘Fired up’
The company had earlier halted production of the H200, its second most advanced AI accelerator chip, due to increasing regulatory hurdles in selling the component in China, after the US agreed to allow its sale there.
Reuters reported that Nvidia has received “some” approvals from the US to sell the H200 in China, as well as licences for “many” customers in China from Chinese regulators.
CNBC also reported that Huang told the news service Nvidia now has clearances from both the US and China.
Regulatory changes
Nvidia has not had a significant product for sale in China since early last year, when sales of the H20, a chip developed specifically for that market, were halted amid friction between the US and Chinese administrations.
Late last year the White House approved the H200 for sale to China, but such sales remain a sensitive issue in both countries, with China cautious around allowing companies to depend on the product and US hawks pushing to restrict such technology from a rival.
