Nvidia has issued a strong denial of a recent Reuters report. The report claimed the American chipmaker imposed strict upfront payment terms on Chinese customers for its advanced H200 AI chips. Nvidia says this information is completely false.
Nvidia's Official Statement
On Tuesday, an Nvidia spokesperson made the company's position clear. "We do not require upfront payment and would never require customers to pay for products that they do not receive," the spokesperson stated. This directly contradicts the allegations in the Reuters article.
What Did the Reuters Report Claim?
The Reuters report suggested Nvidia had set very stringent conditions for Chinese tech companies wanting to purchase the H200 processor. According to their sources, the alleged terms included:
- Requiring full payment in cash before delivery.
- Offering no options for order cancellations or refunds.
- Not allowing any changes to chip configurations after an order was placed.
The report further claimed that Chinese companies had placed orders for over 2 million H200 chips. With each chip reportedly priced around $27,000, this demand would far exceed Nvidia's current inventory of about 700,000 units.
The Importance of the H200 Chip
The Nvidia H200 is a critical piece of hardware for training large-scale artificial intelligence models. While Chinese chipmakers, like Huawei with its Ascend 910C processor, have made progress, their performance in advanced AI training still reportedly lags behind Nvidia's H200.
Regulatory Context and Import Approvals
This news comes amid reports about China's plans for these chips. A separate Bloomberg report indicates China may approve some H200 imports as early as this quarter. The approval is said to be for select commercial uses only.
Purchases would reportedly be barred for:
- The military.
- Sensitive government agencies.
- Critical infrastructure projects.
- State-owned enterprises.
These restrictions are reportedly due to ongoing security concerns. The situation highlights the complex trade and technology landscape between the US and China, with advanced semiconductors at its center.
