China urges local firms not to use Nvidia's H20 chips, Bloomberg News reports
(Reuters) -Chinese authorities have urged local companies to avoid using Nvidia's H20 artificial intelligence chips, particularly for government-related purposes, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Authorities have sent notices to a range of firms discouraging the use of the less-advanced semiconductors, with the guidance taking a particularly strong stance against the use of Nvidia's H20s for any government or national security-related work by state enterprises or private companies, the report said.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.
Nvidia said in a statement on Tuesday that the H20 chip is "not a military product or for government infrastructure."
"China has ample supply of domestic chips to meet its needs. It won't and never has relied on American chips for government operations, just like the U.S. government would not rely on chips from China," the statement said.