Chinese technology companies have bought more than 1 million Nvidia gaming and workstation chips this year to make up for a shortage of AI computing power, the Financial Times reported on 13 October 2026, citing industry insiders [1][2]. Nvidia has not confirmed the figures.
The FT article is behind a paywall, and TSN could not read it directly. The details below come from Tom’s Hardware’s write-up of the FT report [2].
What the FT reported
According to the FT’s industry sources, as relayed by Tom’s Hardware [2]:
- China’s production of its own AI chips has doubled this year, but it still cannot keep up with demand from its biggest tech firms.
- About 3.5 million AI chips are expected to be made in China, while demand “far exceeds” 5 million. Tom’s Hardware put the gap at nearly 1.5 million chips.
- To fill the gap, firms have turned to Nvidia chips that meet US export rules, “mostly” the RTX Pro 6000D, the RTX Pro 5000 and the RTX 5090 gaming card.
These chips are not as strong as Nvidia’s top data-centre chips or Huawei’s best Ascend chips, Tom’s Hardware said, citing the FT. But they are good enough for “simpler AI workloads” such as prefill [2]. Tom’s Hardware added that Nvidia’s CUDA software, which developers prefer to Huawei’s CANN alternative, is part of the reason for the demand.
What is prefill?
When you send a prompt to an AI chatbot, the model works in two stages. First it reads and processes your whole prompt at once. That first stage is called prefill. Then it writes its answer one piece at a time, which is called decoding. Prefill is a big, regular batch of maths, so it can run well on cheaper chips, which is why gaming and workstation cards can be useful for it.
Beijing told firms not to buy one of these chips last year
The buying stands out because of what happened in September 2025. The FT reported then that the Cyberspace Administration of China, the country’s internet regulator, had told companies including ByteDance and Alibaba to stop buying the RTX Pro 6000D, a chip Nvidia made for the Chinese market [3][4]. According to the FT’s report at the time, as relayed by Tom’s Hardware, firms were told to stop testing the chip and cancel their orders [4].
The RTX Pro 6000D is now among the chips the FT’s sources say Chinese firms have been buying. The reports do not say whether that instruction was lifted.
What this means
- China still relies on Nvidia, if the FT’s sources are right, even as its own chip output grows.
- Gaming and workstation chips are being used for AI. They are allowed under US export rules and can handle lighter jobs such as prefill.
- The numbers are unconfirmed. They come from unnamed industry insiders quoted by the FT, and Nvidia has not confirmed them.
Sources
- Financial Times, report on Chinese purchases of Nvidia gaming and workstation chips, 13 October 2026 (paywalled). https://www.ft.com/content/9dbd99db-6b0c-43bd-b7be-849f129df098
- Tom’s Hardware (Stephen Warwick), “Chinese AI companies buy 1 million Nvidia GPUs in a single year, report claims”, 13 October 2026. https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/chinese-ai-companies-buy-1-million-nvidia-gpus-in-a-single-year-report-claims-export-control-compliant-chips-flood-the-market-to-bridge-gap-in-compute-demand
- CNBC, “Nvidia CEO says he’s ‘disappointed’ after report China has banned its AI chips”, 17 September 2025. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/17/nvidia-ceo-disappointed-after-reports-china-has-banned-its-ai-chips.html
- Tom’s Hardware (Jowi Morales), “China bans its biggest tech companies from acquiring Nvidia chips, says report”, 17 September 2025. https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/china-bans-its-biggest-tech-companies-from-acquiring-nvidia-chips-says-report-beijing-claims-its-homegrown-ai-processors-now-match-h20-and-rtx-pro-6000d
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