U.S. Blocks Nvidia’s Scaled-Down AI Chip Sales to China

The White House has informed federal agencies that it will not allow Nvidia to sell its latest scaled-down AI chip, the B30A, to China. The decision prevents the company from distributing samples already provided to several Chinese clients.

The B30A chip is designed for training large language models when deployed in large computing clusters, a capability sought by many Chinese technology firms. Nvidia developed the chip as a lower-performance version of its advanced AI processors to comply with U.S. export controls.

A company spokesperson stated that Nvidia currently holds no market share in China’s data center compute sector and does not include the region in its financial guidance. Despite the restriction, Nvidia is reportedly working on modifying the B30A’s design in hopes that the U.S. administration may reconsider its position.

The move comes as Chinese authorities have introduced new rules requiring state-funded data centers to use only domestically produced chips. Projects still under construction must remove foreign processors or cancel purchases, further limiting Nvidia’s access to one of its key international markets.