China’s biggest technology companies have begun the long and difficult process of switching their development of artificial intelligence to homegrown chips, as they contend with a dwindling stockpile of Nvidia processors and tightening US export controls.
Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu are among those starting to test alternative semiconductors to meet surging AI-related internal demand and client needs, according to industry executives.
They have been forced to step up contingency planning as growing US-China trade tensions led Donald Trump’s administration last month to clamp down on sales of their preferred chip: Nvidia’s H20, a watered-down product tailored to comply with Joe Biden-era curbs.