China conditionally approves DeepSeek to buy Nvidia's H200 chips, sources say

Core Viewpoint - China has approved its top AI startup DeepSeek to purchase Nvidia's H200 AI chips, with regulatory conditions still being finalized [1][3]. Group 1: Company Approvals - DeepSeek, along with ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent, has received permission to buy over 400,000 H200 chips in total [1]. - The approvals were granted by China's industry and commerce ministries, but specific conditions are still under discussion by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) [3]. Group 2: Nvidia's Position - Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang stated that the company has not received confirmation regarding the approvals and believes that China is still finalizing the licensing process [2]. - The H200 chip is Nvidia's second most powerful AI chip and has become a significant point of contention in U.S.-China relations [4]. Group 3: Market Dynamics - The U.S. has recently cleared the way for Nvidia to sell the H200 to China, where there is strong demand for the product [5]. - Any purchases by DeepSeek may attract scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers due to allegations that Nvidia assisted DeepSeek in developing AI models used by the Chinese military [6]. Group 4: Future Developments - DeepSeek is expected to launch its next-generation AI model V4, which will feature advanced coding capabilities, in mid-February [6].