Chinese tech firms are reportedly using a rental loophole to get around US export bans on advanced AI chips. A report claims Tencent secured access to Nvidia's newest Blackwell processors, including the B200 and B300 models, through a Japanese cloud provider named Datasection. The arrangement, valued at over a billion dollars, involves renting computing power from servers located outside China, primarily in Japan and Australia.
This model is becoming a preferred workaround for companies like Tencent, Alibaba, and Baidu. Analysts note that renting this foreign computing capacity provides significantly more power than the downgraded Nvidia hardware they are permitted to purchase directly within China. Even the available Hopper architecture chips, like the H200, are outpaced by the banned Blackwell series. The strategy highlights how US restrictions have created a gray market for cutting-edge AI processing, allowing Chinese giants to indirectly utilize technology they cannot legally import.
This model is becoming a preferred workaround for companies like Tencent, Alibaba, and Baidu. Analysts note that renting this foreign computing capacity provides significantly more power than the downgraded Nvidia hardware they are permitted to purchase directly within China. Even the available Hopper architecture chips, like the H200, are outpaced by the banned Blackwell series. The strategy highlights how US restrictions have created a gray market for cutting-edge AI processing, allowing Chinese giants to indirectly utilize technology they cannot legally import.
