DeepSeek Used Nvidia Blackwell Chips Amid US Export Controls, Officials Confirm

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek reportedly trained its latest model using Nvidia's most advanced Blackwell chips, despite U.S. export controls prohibiting such sales to China. U.S. officials believe the chips are concentrated at DeepSeek's data center in Inner Mongolia and suspect efforts to conceal their American origin. While the U.S. Commerce Department confirms no sales of Nvidia's second-tier H200 chips to China yet, it acknowledges ongoing chip smuggling concerns. Beijing opposes what it calls politicization of trade and technology issues, amid U.S. debates on restricting AI chip exports to China.