China May Allow Alibaba and ByteDance to Buy Nvidia RTX Pro 5500 Chips
The report, published Sunday and citing two people familiar with the matter, said China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently asked companies including Alibaba and ByteDance to provide details on how many RTX Pro 5500 chips they intend to purchase and how they would use them. The ministry has reportedly indicated to some companies that the government intends to approve the purchases.
China Seeks Details on Planned Nvidia Purchases
The potential approval would involve Nvidia’s RTX Pro 5500, a new professional workstation graphics processor unveiled this month. The Information reported that Chinese companies are seeking access to the chip as they face continued demand for computing capacity for artificial intelligence applications.
Some prospective buyers are considering using the chips in servers to run AI models, according to The Information. ByteDance was reportedly considering an order of about 1 million units, although the report noted that the final figure could change depending on how many chips Chinese authorities approve and how many Nvidia can supply.
Nvidia is targeting shipments to China beginning in late December and plans to supply about 500,000 RTX Pro 5500 chips per quarter, according to people cited by The Information. Nvidia sales staff have reportedly encouraged customers to place orders by Sept. 30 to secure supply.
Export Restrictions Remain a Key Factor
The reported move comes amid continuing restrictions on the sale of advanced U.S. semiconductor technology to China. Some industry executives cited by The Information expect the RTX Pro 5500 to fall outside current U.S. export restrictions, potentially allowing Chinese companies to purchase the processor under a different regulatory framework.
Reuters reported that it could not immediately verify The Information’s report. Nvidia, Alibaba and ByteDance did not immediately provide confirmation of the reported approval, while Reuters also said it was unable to immediately reach the Chinese government for comment.
An Nvidia spokesperson told Reuters that U.S. companies remain constrained by U.S. export controls as well as China’s own restrictions on U.S. imports.
The RTX Pro 5500 is positioned as a professional workstation GPU rather than a conventional data-center accelerator. The chip features 84 GB of GDDR7 memory and 21,760 CUDA cores, according to specifications reported by TechPowerUp.
For now, the reported approval remains unconfirmed publicly. The next key details will be whether Chinese authorities formally authorize the purchases and how many RTX Pro 5500 chips companies such as Alibaba and ByteDance ultimately receive.
Writer: Ethan Collins
Crypto Journalist
Ethan Collins reports on developments across the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector. His work covers market movements, protocol updates, regulatory changes, and emerging trends in digital assets.
He focuses on presenting complex topics in a clear and accessible manner for a broad readership.
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