ByteDance and Tencent have each received about 10,000 Nvidia H200 processors in recent weeks, as the Chinese government gives permission for small numbers of the high-end chips to enter the mainland, the Financial Times reported.
A few other tech groups could soon receive approval for shipments of a similar size, under a process overseen by the state planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the report said, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.
The US has approved Chinese tech companies to buy up to 100,000 H200s each, but the Chinese government is keeping most of such purchases outside the mainland, to support domestic chipmakers such as Huawei, the report said.
In addition to the mainland chips, companies have been told they can use H200s in Hong Kong, outside the customs barrier, but data centre capacity in the city is limited, in part due to power supply constraints.
Nvidia reportedly has a stock of about half a million of the H200, an older-generation chip, mainly for Chinese customers, with shipments delayed for months due to Chinese restrictions.
