Nvidia's research leader alleges that the AI researchers based in China are now developing software for Huawei, a shift attributed to US limitations on chip exports.
Nvidia's been banging the drum about the U.S.'s China chip export restrictions for a while now, but they're starting to get more direct with their complaints. According to a translation of a report from Taiwan Economic Daily (via Wccftech), Nvidia's Chief Scientist and Senior VP of Research, Bill Dally, claims Huawei's snagging ex-Nvidia AI researchers because of these restrictions.
Dally, through a machine translation, suggests the growth in AI researchers in China – apparently increasing from a third of the world's researchers in 2019 to almost half today – is due to the U.S. export restrictions. Without these restrictions, Huawei wouldn't lean so heavily on home-grown AI solutions, but with them, it's forced to keep up.
Nvidia seems to be making a pretty clear argument here, hoping to influence the U.S. administration. It catches the ear of those worried about the U.S.-China technological arms race. But this argument isn't new – Nvidia's been saying it for a while.
At Computex last month, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said, "AI researchers are still doing AI research in China," and "if they don't have enough Nvidia, they'll use their own [chips]." And regarding Huawei specifically, Huang stated the company's become "quite formidable."
There's another reason Nvidia might want to emphasize the downsides of export controls: they've lost and will continue to lose a lot of money because of it. Nvidia itself has confirmed this, admitting it lost billions of dollars through restrictions of its H20 chips to China in Q1 and expecting another $8 billion to vanish in Q2 because Hopper, the company's previous chip architecture, "is no longer an option."
Huawei's latest Ascend 910 and 920 chips, courtesy of China's SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation), look like better options for Chinese AI companies than trying to get their hands on Nvidia silicon somehow. And with ex-Nvidia researchers now apparently flocking to China, who knows what innovative AI solutions will emerge? Nvidia seems worried about what's coming next.
It's not like Nvidia can complain about the poaching aspect, though, really – after all, they're supposedly enticing likely TSMC employees in Taiwan with high-salary job advertisements. Guess business is just business, ain't it?
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Jacob Fox, one of our Hardware Junkies, dabbled in both hardware and philosophy before joining PC Gamer full-time. After getting his first gaming PC at 12, he knew he couldn't trust anyone else to build his rig again. With a vengeance, Jacob the hardware geek was born. Now, he's leading a double life, balancing his love for hardware with his passion for philosophy.
- The international finance news highlights Nvidia's concern about the U.S.'s China chip export restrictions, claiming they are driving AI researchers to China, like Huawei's ex-Nvidia AI researchers.
- As a result of these restrictions, Nvidia seems to be losing significant revenue, with the company admitting losses of billions of dollars due to H20 chip restrictions in Q1 and expecting another $8 billion to disappear in Q2.
- In addition to these financial losses, Nvidia appears worried about the technological arms race between the U.S. and China, as the growth in AI researchers in China is almost at half the world's total, according to Dally.
- Despite the poaching concerns, it seems Nvidia itself is not immune to the practice, reportedly enticing TSMC employees in Taiwan with high-salary job offers.
- In the realm of general-news, there's a PS4 and PS5 game review and deal update, ensuring gamers stay current with the latest in the gaming world.
