China blocks ByteDance from Nvidia chip use: Report

ByteDance, a TikTok-owner, is prohibited from using Nvidia chips in new data centers by Chinese regulators.

Two company employees were named as the first to share the news on Wednesday, according to the tech publication The Information.

In response to concerns that the United States might reduce supply, ByteDance purchased more Nvidia chips than any other Chinese company in 2025 as it worked to secure computing power for its billion+ users.

Beijing’s efforts to reduce its reliance on US technology are underpinned by the reported ban, which has grown more stringent as Washington tightens sanctions on Chinese exports of advanced semiconductors.

According to Bloomberg reports on a source with knowledge about Chinese tech regulators’ requests to stop new orders for Nvidia AI chips in August.

A Nvidia spokesman told the Reuters news agency, “Our regulatory landscape prevents us from offering a competitive data center GPU in China, leaving that enormous market open to our rapidly expanding foreign competitors.”

Earlier this month, Reuters reported that the Chinese government had issued instructions for new data center projects that had received any state funding to only use domestically produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips.

China’s plans to create an alternative AI ecosystem and become self-sufficient are accelerating, despite Washington’s fragile pause in trade tensions.

Only scaled-down versions of Nvidia’s most cutting-edge chips, like the H20, are permitted in China, which is prohibited by Washington. Although demand has been low, some major tech companies have chosen not to place orders because of Nvidia’s announcement to make a China-specific chip.

US President Donald Trump stated in response to discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month that Washington would “let them deal with Nvidia but not in terms of the most advanced” chips.