ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have ordered more than 3 million of Nvidia's new RTX PRO 5500 graphics cards with a collective sticker price of over $35 billion, two people familiar with the matter said, in a rush for a less powerful but export-compliant chip amid US restrictions on trade with China.

US-based chipmaker Nvidia has told customers and partners it cannot guarantee that it can fill the orders because demand from Chinese technology companies far exceeds planned production, the two sources and a third person familiar with the matter said. They requested anonymity because they are not authorised to speak to the media.

The RTX PRO 5500 is a workstation chip, designed for powerful professional computers rather than the large data-centre clusters that use Nvidia's most advanced AI processors. But it is among the most powerful Nvidia chips that are still available to Chinese buyers.

Nvidia's Blackwell-based B300 data-centre chip is not allowed to be sold to Chinese buyers under US export controls, while exports of its Hopper-based H200 are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and are subject to licensing conditions.

One source said Nvidia told partners they might receive only 5% to 10% of the quantities requested. Another said the company had indicated it could produce no more than 3 million RTX PRO 5500 cards globally in 2027. Total orders from customers in China have exceeded 6 million, two of the sources said.

The three Chinese tech giants' orders are for cards priced at about $11,400 each, two of the sources said, giving them a potential combined value of more than $35 billion.

Source link