Chinese tech giants bought $16b in Nvidia H20 chips in Q1 2025

ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent ordered over US$16 billion worth of Nvidia H20 chips in Q1 2025, according to The Information.

The H20 is Nvidia’s most advanced AI chip available in China under US export restrictions, which were tightened in October 2023.

Chinese startup DeepSeek has driven demand for the H20 by using it for cost-effective AI models despite US limits on Nvidia’s top chips.

Nvidia CEO, Jensen Huang, said the company expects minimal short-term impact from these restrictions and plans to shift production to the US.

Recent Nvidia developments

Timeline
02-Apr-2025 🚀 Nvidia-backed AI firm CoreWeave’s shares surge after IPO debut CoreWeave shares rose 18% after IPO struggles. Stock fell below IPO price; revenue up 737% last year.
01-Apr-2025 📉 Nvidia-backed AI firm’s stock falls 7% below IPO price to $37 CoreWeave’s stock drops 7% to US$37. Largest tech IPO since 2021, raising US$1.5 billion.
28-Mar-2025 📈 Nvidia backs CoreWeave IPO at $40 per share, source says Nvidia backs CoreWeave’s IPO with $250M order IPO priced lower than initial range amid market slowdown
27-Mar-2025 💰 Nvidia nears acquisition of AI server firm Lepton AI Nvidia nears acquisition of Lepton AI. Deal estimated at several hundred million dollars.
21-Mar-2025 🧬 Nvidia to open quantum lab in Boston with MIT, Harvard Nvidia to open quantum lab in Boston with MIT. CEO highlights quantum tech’s importance at conference.

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