NVIDIA has refuted claims suggesting that the Chinese AI startup DeepSeek trained its latest model with prohibited Blackwell chips. Earlier, the foreign media outlet The Information, citing anonymous sources, alleged that these chips had made their way into China via intricate smuggling networks, although the specific country or region of origin wasn't identified. A spokesperson from NVIDIA remarked that no concrete evidence or credible leads had surfaced, and while they deemed the smuggling assertions to be highly improbable, they would persist with their inquiries. Furthermore, this week, the U.S. Department of Commerce declared that it would grant NVIDIA permission to export H200 chips to approved clients in China, albeit with a 25% royalty fee attached.
