2y ago

U.S. issues warning to NVIDIA, urging to stop redesigning chips for China

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U.S. issues warning to NVIDIA, urging to stop redesigning chips for China - VideoCardz.com

U.S. issues warning to NVIDIA, urging to stop redesigning chips for China::undefined

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The second Nvidia came out with that press release about a special China-specific version I was expecting this to happen. Honestly, I’m not quite sure what they’re thinking. Congress is CLEARLY trying to control the export of this technology and limit the access the PRC has to it. Trying to end-run what will likely become an ITAR issue (if it isn’t already) is an objectively bad corporate strategy. The penalties for that sort of thing are fucking serious.
- Absolute boneheaded move by NVIDIA. Guess they just saw dollar signs and stopped thinking. What I don’t get is they are already at like 300% capacity I don’t think there will be any business short falls from selling only to US customers
  
  I think it's quite clever actually.
  They clearly realise that if China can't buy their chips, the CPC will put the full force of a planned economy behind making their own. Once that happens cheap Chinese AI chips will eat their lunch.
  
  Really, the only big market that is being targeted by the restrictions is Mainland China (pointedly not including Russia because it’s honestly not a very big market compared to like… New York State or Texas or California). Nvidia would have been fine.
  I think you’re right: they got greedy (shocking, I know)
  
  What I don’t get is they are already at like 300% capacity I don’t think there will be any business short falls from selling only to US customers
  Because capitalism is about making EVEN MORE the next year. And EVEN MORE the year after that.
“Look, I know we made it your legal obligation to do everything you can to maximize profits for your shareholders, but we didn’t even give five minutes at the time to consider the ramifications of that decision, and now we would like the leopards to stop eating our faces.”
Apologies I don't know but: is Nvidia a US company? What happens if they decide China is the better market for them? They lose out on the US but gain on the Chinese? Doesn't the US need Nvidia for AI dominance? Why would they actively piss them off?
Again, sorry I don't follow these things closely.
- nvidia is a US company. They are subject to ITAR regulations.
  They need non-Chinese IP to build their GPUs and fab them (ie EUV tech and TSMC to fab).
  China is a big market, but still smaller than the US and Europe by quite a bit.
- Unless USA wants to do an England and lose a massive amount of bleeding edge tech IP, they would simply shut down any attempts of Nvidia to move outside the US's jurisdiction.
  Nvidia's technology is tied to national security so it would never happen. Might as well ask why Lockheed Martin doesn't sell to China.
- Nvidia is a U.S company (Santa Clara, on the east side of the silicon valley). They are a fabless company, so drivers and design are done in house, but actual chip production is outsourced.
  Its extremely hard for companies to manage both design and manufacture(fabs), and the only companies who do both are Intel, Samsung, Texas Instruments (non bleeding edge), and the newish companies in China.
  When you have companies like Apple with their M1 or Google with their pixel processors, they do not manufacture them theirselves, only design and outsource manufacturing, as it takes billions in investments to fund research and maintain fabs to be bleeding edge.
Its called profit driven captialism. Same reason why sancations on Russia worked out so bad. Oh, we can't sell to Russia. Bummer. Ayo look this new Armenian company is making a huge order! Splendid!
This is just like the "designer drugs" thing where regulation can never keep up, right? You can always make a new product that falls outside the current definition of what's restricted but inside the definition of what your customers want.
The government can't win without completely forbidding the export of electronics tech to China.

18 comments