Nvidia responds to report claiming China’s DeepSeek that wiped billions from US stock market in January 2025, is using ‘banned’ Nvidia chips

Nvidia has now pushed back against a report claiming that Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, whose breakthrough earlier this year rattled US markets, is secretly using its restricted Blackwell AI chips. Recently, a report published by The Information alleged that DeepSeek has acquired smuggled Blackwell GPUs which the company is using to train its upcoming AI model. These chips are among Nvidia’s most-advanced processors and they have been named from export to China under US trade restrictions which are aimed at maintaining America’s lead in the artificial intelligence race. However, the chipset major has dismissed these claims.

“We haven’t seen any substantiation or received tips of ‘phantom data centers’ constructed to deceive us and our OEM partners, then deconstructed, smuggled and reconstructed somewhere else,” an Nvidia spokesperson said told CNBC.