Nvidia, AMD grapple with latest US curbs on China’s Inspur
- Inspur Group is the world’s third-largest supplier of the servers used in data centres that power cloud computing
- Chip industry insiders and their advisers said firms are trying to assess whether they must halt supplying Inspur’s subsidiaries
Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and other US tech firms are scrambling to assess whether they must halt sales to units of China’s Inspur Group after its addition to a US export blacklist last week.
The US last week added Inspur to its trade blacklist for allegedly acquiring US-origin items in support of the China’s military modernisation efforts. The listing means that companies cannot sell Inspur items like semiconductors, which are made with US tools, unless they apply for and get licences, which are likely to be denied.
A US Department of Commerce spokesman told Reuters on Tuesday that it “is reviewing Inspur Group Co's Entity List entry and will update it as appropriate”, referring to the official name of the export blacklist.
Executives from AMD and Nvidia were questioned about dealings with Inspur at an investor conference on Monday. AMD said it was seeking clarification on the rules.
While not a household name, Inspur’s Chinese-listed subsidiary had nearly US$10 billion in sales in 2021 and the group is the world’s third-largest supplier of the servers used in data centres that power cloud computing services, according to market research firm IDC figures for the third quarter of 2022, the most recent available.
