## China's Military Sought Nvidia Chips for AI Servers and Robot Dog, Documents Reveal **Report Provider:** Business Insider **Author:** Charles Rollet **Date:** August 1, 2025 (Published Date) This report details findings from documents reviewed by Business Insider, indicating that China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has attempted to procure Nvidia chips for various military applications, including AI servers and a robot dog. The revelations come amidst a US policy shift to loosen export controls on certain Nvidia chips, sparking national security concerns. ### Key Findings and Conclusions: * **Military Procurement Attempts:** Chinese military units have posted numerous requests on the PLA's official procurement portal for Nvidia hardware, including chips that are currently banned from export to China. * **AI Server Applications:** Several requests specify the use of Nvidia chips for servers designed to run advanced AI models, such as those developed by Chinese startup DeepSeek. * One request from April called for **at least eight H20 cards** to power a system capable of running DeepSeek's **DeepSeek-R1 671B** model at full capacity. * Another request from the same month sought **four RTX 6000 graphics cards** for an "intelligent decision-making" support system. A supplier was provisionally selected for this in June. * A server request from July 2024 also specified **H100 GPUs**, which have been banned from export to China since 2022. These cards are described as costing "tens of thousands of dollars apiece." * **Robot Dog Project:** A military unit requested a **33-pound "robot dog"** with an Nvidia Jetson computing module in April for an unspecified training project. This particular request was later canceled, though Jetson modules are generally not barred from export. * **US Policy Shift and Concerns:** The US recently greenlit some Nvidia chip sales, specifically mentioning the **H20 chip**, a move that has raised alarms among national security strategists. * Twenty national security policymakers and professionals sent a letter to the Commerce Department urging the US to **reimpose the H20 ban**, arguing that these chips would "support China's military." * Craig Singleton, a senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, stated, "This reversal will certainly open the floodgates." * **Nvidia's Stance:** Nvidia maintains that China's military possesses "more than enough" domestic chips and that acquiring a "handful of older products to test the US competition is not a national security concern." The company also stated that using restricted products without support would be a "nonstarter." * **Domestic Alternatives and Security Claims:** Despite Nvidia's assurances, China's government has been actively supporting domestic chip development. Separately, China's internet regulator has summoned Nvidia to address alleged backdoor security risks in its H20 chips, claims Nvidia denies. * **Acquisition Methods:** Experts like Ryan Fedasiuk, a former State Department advisor, suggest the PLA has various methods to acquire chips illicitly, including using "ample cutouts, subsidiaries, and shell companies." * **Performance Gap:** Fedasiuk also highlighted that the Chinese military, like Chinese AI companies, seeks the best hardware available, and domestic chips like those from Huawei are not comparable in processing power to Nvidia's offerings. ### Notable Risks and Concerns: * **National Security Threat:** The primary concern is that the sale of Nvidia chips, particularly the H20, could directly benefit China's military modernization and AI capabilities, potentially posing a threat to US national security. * **Circumvention of Bans:** The PLA's documented attempts to procure banned chips suggest a persistent effort to acquire advanced technology, potentially through illicit channels. * **"Opening the Floodgates":** The loosening of export controls is feared to create a precedent that could lead to broader access for China to critical US semiconductor technology. ### Material Financial Data: * The report mentions that **H100 graphics cards** can cost "tens of thousands of dollars apiece," indicating the significant financial investment involved in these procurement attempts. ### Trends and Changes: * **Shift in US Export Policy:** The US is easing export controls on certain Nvidia chips, a significant change from previous restrictions. * **Continued Demand for High-Performance Chips:** The Chinese military's procurement requests demonstrate a consistent demand for cutting-edge AI hardware, even as domestic alternatives are being developed. ### Important Recommendations (Implied): * The letter from national security experts to the Commerce Department serves as an implicit recommendation to **reimpose the ban on H20 chip sales** to China. * The concerns raised by experts suggest a need for **vigilant monitoring and enforcement** of export controls to prevent the diversion of advanced technology to military applications.
China’s military tried to buy Nvidia chips for AI servers and a robot dog, documents show
Read original at Business Insider →Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.Chesnot/Getty Images China's army sought to buy Nvidia chips for AI servers that can run DeepSeek and for a robot dog.The US recently greenlit some Nvidia chip sales, worrying some national security strategists.Nvidia says China's military has plenty of domestic chips, and there's no national security threat.
The Chinese military wants to use Nvidia AI chips in a wide range of projects, from servers running Chinese startup DeepSeek's most powerful model to a 33-pound "robot dog" with a high-definition camera, according to documents reviewed by Business Insider.BI reviewed records on the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA)'s official procurement portal, where military units post thousands of requests for equipment that local contractors can bid on.
Multiple requests over the past year reference both banned and permitted Nvidia hardware, including the H20 chip, on which the US is set to loosen export controls—a move that has sent Nvidia's stock soaring.An Nvidia spokesperson told BI that China has "more than enough" domestic chips for all its military applications."
Buying a handful of older products to test the US competition is not a national security concern," the spokesperson said. "Using restricted products for military applications would be a nonstarter, without support, software, or maintenance."While the Chinese military tries to buy Nvidia's hardware, the chipmaker faces pressure from other parts of the Chinese government, which has long supported efforts to build a domestic alternative.
On Thursday, China's internet regulator said it had summoned the company to explain alleged backdoor security risks in its H20 chips, claims that Nvidia has denied, Reuters reported.How the Chinese army wants to use Nvidia chipsThe military projects reviewed by BI are typically for servers to run AI models, like those built by DeepSeek, for unspecified purposes.
Three requests published this April call for banned Nvidia chips to power such servers. One requests at least eight H20 cards for a system capable of running one of DeepSeek's largest and most powerful models, DeepSeek-R1 671B, at full capacity.Another, tied to an "intelligent decision-making" support system that can also run DeepSeek, calls for four RTX 6000 graphics cards—also banned.
Although the contract hasn't been finalized, a supplier was provisionally selected in June. DeepSeek didn't respond to requests for comment.Another server request from the same month asks for an H100 graphics card—banned from export to China since 2022—which can cost tens of thousands of dollars apiece.
The listing specifies that the cards must be delivered in their original packaging and installed on-site. Another AI server request published in July 2024 also calls for H100 GPUs.The Chinese military isn't only calling for AI servers.One project from April, for example, shows a military unit requesting a 33-pound "robot dog" with an Nvidia Jetson computing module as part of an unspecified training project.
This particular request was later canceled, and Jetson modules are not barred from being exported to China for most use cases.It's unclear whether the Chinese military actually obtained these chips. Ryan Fedasiuk, a former State Department advisor on China tech policy, says the Chinese military has many ways to acquire them."
There are ample cutouts, subsidiaries, and shell companies that the PLA can and does use to source chips illicitly from American companies, including Nvidia," he told BI.Nvidia plans to sell H20 chips to China againSome national security policymakers and professionals have expressed concerns about making it easier for China to get some Nvidia chips.
Twenty of them sent a letter to the Commerce Department on Monday asking the US to reimpose the H20 ban, saying the chips would "support China's military.""This reversal will certainly open the floodgates," said Craig Singleton, a senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies who co-signed the letter.
The Commerce Department told BI that the current administration has tightened controls compared to its predecessor."The Trump Administration will consider any H20 license applications carefully, accounting for both the benefits and the costs of potential exports from America and taking into account the views of experts across the US Government," a Commerce spokesperson said.'
Nobody can beat Nvidia'Fedasiuk reviewed some of the records found by BI and said they show that the Chinese military, like Chinese AI companies, wants to use the best hardware possible, and domestic chips like Huawei's don't cut it."In terms of sheer processing power that a given chip is capable of bringing to bear, nobody can beat Nvidia.
Huawei is not close," Fedasiuk said.Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has downplayed such concerns, saying China's military doesn't want to rely on US technology."They simply can't rely on it," Huang said in July on CNN."It could, of course, be limited at any time."China's Ministry of National Defense, which represents the PLA, didn't respond to requests for comment.
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