Top Chinese AI labs built their newest models on Nvidia's Blackwell chips
What happened
A forensic analysis of released AI model weights shows that four major Chinese AI labs—DeepSeek, Moonshot, MiniMax, and Ant Group—trained their newest models on NVIDIA’s Blackwell GPUs, which are export‑controlled and barred from China. The study matched over six trillion GPU‑seed combinations to model fingerprints, finding strong evidence that models such as DeepSeek‑V4‑Pro, Kimi K3, and MiniMax‑M3 were initialized on Blackwell hardware. The analysis was independently verified by researchers at OpenAI and Anthropic. The findings suggest that these labs may have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on prohibited GPUs.
Why it matters
If true, it indicates that Chinese AI firms are accessing advanced hardware that should be restricted, potentially giving them a competitive edge. This could raise concerns about the effectiveness of export controls and the global balance of AI development.
Reality check
An automated, sceptical read of the sourceGenuine breakthrough. The claim that export‑controlled GPUs were used by major Chinese labs, supported by extensive forensic evidence, represents a significant and potentially game‑changing revelation.
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