US giant Nvidia Corp, the world’s most valuable chipmaker, is selling a less-capable version of its best graphics product for video gamers in China, after Washington tightened restrictions on what the company can market in that country.
The version of the GTX 4090 D chip that is listed for sale on Nvidia’s China Web site has about 10 percent fewer processing cores than the 4090 that is sold in other countries.
“The GeForce RTX 4090 D has been designed to comply with US government export controls and will only be available at retail in China,” a Nvidia spokesperson said in an e-mail.
Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, AFP
The company’s chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) has said he would produce versions of his market-leading products for China that comply with rules imposed by the administration of US President Joe Biden on exports to that country.
The US, seeking to slow down the advancement of China’s artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, is limiting access to specialized chips in that market.
The company said it “extensively engaged” with the US government while developing the graphics product, which is to be available next month.
Compared with the 4090 sold elsewhere, the China model will also have fewer processing subunits that are useful for accelerating AI workloads, Nvidia said.
US officials, who have cited national security concerns, are more interested in Nvidia’s AI accelerators, a range that is currently topped by the H100. That type of chip, which is based on technology used in graphics cards, has become the basis of an explosion in AI-capable hardware by owners of large data centers.
When US export rules were tightened last year, Nvidia introduced less capable versions of its chips for China. The US clamped down again in October by further reducing performance thresholds. Nvidia’s leadership responded by saying the company would again redo its offerings for the Asian country, the largest market for chips, to make them compliant with the new rules.
Nvidia shares rose less than 1 percent to US$497.10 at 12:25pm local time in New York. The stock has more than tripled this year, making Nvidia by far the best-performing semiconductor stock this year and the industry’s first company with a market value of US$1 trillion.
Anna Bhobho, a 31-year-old housewife from rural Zimbabwe, was once a silent observer in her home, excluded from financial and family decisionmaking in the deeply patriarchal society. Today, she is a driver of change in her village, thanks to an electric tricycle she owns. In many parts of rural sub-Saharan Africa, women have long been excluded from mainstream economic activities such as operating public transportation. However, three-wheelers powered by green energy are reversing that trend, offering financial opportunities and a newfound sense of importance. “My husband now looks up to me to take care of a large chunk of expenses,
SECTOR LEADER: TSMC can increase capacity by as much as 20 percent or more in the advanced node part of the foundry market by 2030, an analyst said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to lead its peers in the advanced 2-nanometer process technology, despite competition from Samsung Electronics Co and Intel Corp, TrendForce Corp analyst Joanne Chiao (喬安) said. TSMC’s sophisticated products and its large production scale are expected to allow the company to continue dominating the global 2-nanometer process market this year, Chiao said. The world’s largest contract chipmaker is scheduled to begin mass production of chips made on the 2-nanometer process in its Hsinchu fab in the second half of this year. It would also hold a ceremony on Monday next week to
TECH CLUSTER: The US company’s new office is in the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City, a new AI industry base and cybersecurity hub in southern Taiwan US chip designer Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday launched an office in Tainan’s Gueiren District (歸仁), marking a significant milestone in the development of southern Taiwan’s artificial intelligence (AI) industry, the Tainan City Government said in a statement. AMD Taiwan general manager Vincent Chern (陳民皓) presided over the opening ceremony for the company’s new office at the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City (沙崙智慧綠能科學城), a new AI industry base and cybersecurity hub in southern Taiwan. Facilities in the new office include an information processing center, and a research and development (R&D) center, the Tainan Economic Development Bureau said. The Ministry
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday signed a letter of intent with Alaska Gasline Development Corp (AGDC), expressing an interest to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) and invest in the latter’s Alaska LNG project, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. Under the agreement, CPC is to participate in the project’s upstream gas investment to secure stable energy resources for Taiwan, the ministry said. The Alaska LNG project is jointly promoted by AGDC and major developer Glenfarne Group LLC, as Alaska plans to export up to 20 million tonnes of LNG annually from 2031. It involves constructing an 1,290km