China May Clear ByteDance and Alibaba to Buy New Nvidia Chips

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has requested terms of use and procurement volumes for recently launched AI hardware from domestic technology firms. Beijing's regulators have since informedselect companies, including ByteDance and Alibaba, that the government intends to authorize the purchase of RTX Pro 5500 chips from Nvidia. ByteDance plans to order 1 million of the chips to power its AI models, according to The Information. This move follows the release of the hardware this month and suggests a shift in how the Chinese government manages the acquisition of advanced US AI technology for its largest platforms.