DeepSeek is using sanction‑restricted Nvidia Blackwell accelerators to train its new artificial intelligence model, the Americans say

Chinese DeepSeek uses banned Nvidia Blackwell accelerators

Although the United States has somewhat relaxed its export restrictions, shipments of computing accelerators for artificial intelligence (AI) systems to China remain prohibited. Nevertheless, Chinese startup DeepSeek, according to some reports, trained its latest AI model specifically on these devices.

* Model launch

Next week DeepSeek plans to unveil its newest model. According to Reuters, the developers used Blackwell accelerators that are in operation in Inner Mongolia – an autonomous region of China. U.S. officials confirmed the existence of such information, which could serve as a basis for further action against Chinese AI projects.

* Uncertainty of access

The exact details of how DeepSeek obtained access to Blackwell devices under sanctions remain unknown.

Division of American policy
The question of whether China should be allowed to use U.S. accelerators splits the political arena:

History of administration actions
* August last year – Donald Trump considered allowing the shipment of modified Blackwell devices with lower performance than U.S. equivalents.
* December – instead, export of H200 accelerators (Hopper architecture), which are older and less powerful, was approved.
* In light of increasing complaints about data theft by Chinese competitors, the U.S. government is considering tightening AI export restrictions.

Thus, even with partial easing of rules, export controls remain relevant, and the situation around DeepSeek and Blackwell continues to raise concerns among U.S. officials.