Chinese companies are reportedly considering purchasing Nvidia’s H200 AI GPUs from the black market after Beijing banned their import several days ago. According to a report by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), Chinese tech companies are faced with either paying more for the GPUs that have been imported illegally into the country or settling for less powerful, domestically made chips.
According to the report, three people familiar with the matter say Chinese customs officials are holding H200 chips at the border. The report says H200 orders are purportedly "super sensitive," and that it is "unclear when authorities would approve the imports." As such, buyers are reportedly considering getting the GPUs from the black market instead because of "urgent need." According to SCMP, resellers are receiving inquiries for the H200, with bundled servers (featuring eight H200 chips) valued at 50 per cent more than their official China list price.
