DeepSeek's Huawei Order Still Leaves Nvidia Doing the Training
DeepSeek plans to use 160,000 of Huawei's Ascend 950DT chips in a new data center, advancing China's efforts to reduce reliance on Nvidia (NVDA). Huawei's production capacity and component shortages may delay the order. DeepSeek will use Nvidia chips for training despite Huawei's chips being designed for that purpose. DeepSeek is seeking billions in funding for the project.
How this was made
The 30-second read
Why it matters
The contract could reshape AI hardware competition, but component shortages may delay full deployment.
Market read
First report of a major Huawei AI chip order, indicating a strategic push against Nvidia.
What to watch
DeepSeek's continued reliance on Nvidia for training could dilute the strategic advantage of the Huawei order.
Background
DeepSeek is building a large AI data center in Inner Mongolia and plans to use Huawei's Ascend 950DT chips for inference workloads.
Market effects
Highlights growing competition for Nvidia in AI hardware, may pressure AI chip stocks.
Boosts Chinese AI infrastructure narrative, could affect regional tech indices.
Signals potential shift in global AI chip supply chain dynamics.
Counterpoint
Huawei's production constraints may limit impact, keeping Nvidia dominant longer.
Key entities
- CompanyDeepSeek
AI startup planning massive deployment of Huawei AI chips.
- CompanyHuawei Technologies
Supplier of Ascend 950DT accelerators.
