WASHINGTON, United States — The United States government has accused Chinese AI startup DeepSeek of training its forthcoming artificial intelligence model using Nvidia’s most advanced Blackwell chips, potentially breaching strict U.S. export controls.
A senior official in President Donald Trump’s administration said the model, expected to be released as soon as next week, was trained on the Blackwell processors, which are barred from export to China under Commerce Department regulations.
The official said U.S. authorities believe the chips are clustered at a DeepSeek data centre in Inner Mongolia. Washington also suspects the company may attempt to remove technical indicators that could reveal its use of American hardware.
“Our policy is clear: we’re not shipping Blackwells to China,” the official said, declining to disclose how the intelligence was obtained or how the chips allegedly reached China.
NVIDIA, led by Chief Executive Jensen Huang, declined to comment. The U.S. Commerce Department and DeepSeek did not respond to requests for comment. The Chinese embassy in Washington criticised what it termed the “expansive use of export controls” and accused the U.S. of politicising trade and technology issues.
The Blackwell chips represent Nvidia’s most advanced AI processors, designed to power next-generation generative AI systems. U.S. export controls currently prohibit their shipment to China over national security concerns, particularly fears that advanced chips could enhance China’s military and surveillance capabilities.
The allegations risk widening divisions in Washington over how far to restrict China’s access to American semiconductor technology. White House AI adviser David Sacks and some industry leaders have argued that limited exports of advanced chips could reduce incentives for Chinese firms such as Huawei to accelerate domestic alternatives.
However, security hawks warn that even commercial AI applications can have dual-use implications. Chris McGuire, a former National Security Council official under President Joe Biden, said the development underscores enforcement challenges. “Given China’s leading AI companies are brazenly violating U.S. export controls, we cannot expect compliance with conditions prohibiting military use,” he said.
Last year, President Trump briefly signalled openness to allowing Nvidia to sell a scaled-down Blackwell variant to China, but later reversed course, insisting that the most advanced chips should remain reserved for U.S. firms. In December, the administration allowed Chinese firms to purchase Nvidia’s second-most-advanced H200 chips, though shipments have reportedly stalled over regulatory guardrails.
The official further alleged that DeepSeek’s model may have relied on “distillation” techniques using outputs from leading U.S. AI systems developed by firms such as OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. Distillation allows newer models to learn from established systems by refining responses based on comparative evaluations.
DeepSeek, based in Hangzhou, drew global attention last year after unveiling AI models that rivalled top U.S. offerings. Its rapid progress intensified concerns in Washington that China could narrow the AI gap despite escalating semiconductor restrictions.
