- China's top tech firms ordered 3M Nvidia RTX PRO 5500 GPUs worth $35B amid US export limits
- Nvidia warned deliveries may be only 5%-10% of requested due to high demand and production limits
- RTX PRO 5500 suits AI inference tasks and remains one of Nvidia's most powerful chips allowed in China
China's biggest technology companies are turning to a less powerful Nvidia chip as US export restrictions continue to limit their access to advanced artificial intelligence processors.
Reuters citing two people familiar with the matter reported that ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have collectively ordered more than 3 million Nvidia RTX PRO 5500 workstation graphics processing units (GPUs), with a combined price tag exceeding $35 billion.
The orders underline the growing demand for AI computing capacity in China, where technology companies are racing to develop advanced models despite restrictions on some of Nvidia's most powerful processors.
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Reuters citing three people familiar with the matter reported that Nvidia hwoever has warned customers and partners that it cannot guarantee deliveries in full, as demand from Chinese buyers has far outstripped its planned production.
One source said Nvidia had indicated that customers might receive only 5% to 10% of the quantities they requested. Another said the chipmaker could produce no more than 3 million RTX PRO 5500 cards globally in 2027, while total orders from Chinese customers have exceeded 6 million.
The three technology giants are seeking the cards at around $11,400 apiece, according to two of the sources.
The RTX PRO 5500 is designed for high-performance professional workstations rather than large data centres. However, it is among Nvidia's most powerful chips still available to Chinese buyers under current US export restrictions.
Nvidia's Blackwell-based B300 data-centre processor is barred from sale to China, while exports of its Hopper-based H200 chip are subject to case-by-case reviews and licensing conditions.
According to Reuters, Chinese companies primarily want the RTX PRO 5500 for AI inference, the process through which trained AI models generate responses to user queries. Inference generally requires less computing power than training models on massive datasets.
The shift also reflects diminishing expectations that Washington will soon permit broader access to Nvidia's advanced chips. Chinese buyers had previously shown limited interest in restricted-capability alternatives, viewing them as expensive relative to their performance.
But continued export curbs and a shortage of computing capacity have made such products more attractive.
Nvidia's delivery concerns reflect not only surging demand but also its production priorities. Reuters reported that the company is expected to allocate much of its manufacturing capacity at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to its next-generation Rubin platform from 2027, potentially limiting production of products such as the RTX PRO 5500.
Nvidia has told customers to expect early samples in December, with commercial deliveries beginning in the first quarter of 2027, the report said.
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Meanwhile, US restrictions have encouraged Chinese companies to turn to domestic chipmakers, including Huawei. However, local manufacturers continue to face challenges in matching leading American products, partly because restrictions also limit access to advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
An Nvidia spokesperson told Reuters that Chinese workstation chip and card producers had experienced "unprecedented growth since 2022", when the restrictions were first imposed.
The orders highlight a central challenge for China's AI ambitions: even as Beijing promotes domestic alternatives, demand for Nvidia's available hardware remains strong, putting further pressure on an already constrained supply chain.
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