Advanced Micro Devices Could Score Major China Coup

"For more than two years, U.S. export restrictions have severely limited Advanced Micro Devices ( ) and Nvidia ( NASDAQ:NVDA ) from selling their most advanced artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators in China. The controls, progressively tightened by the federal government, aim to prevent Beijing from obtaining cutting-edge technology that could advance military or strategic AI capabilities. As a result, both companies have one of the world's largest AI markets all but closed off to them."

"This morning, the website MLex reported that Alibaba ( ) is considering a purchase of 40,000 to 50,000 MI308 AI accelerators from AMD. The MI308 is AMD's China-specific AI chip, engineered to comply with current U.S. export rules while still offering substantial performance for large-scale AI training and inference workloads. According to the report, AMD has already secured some export licenses for the MI308 and is prepared to pay a 15% fee to the U.S. government on approved sales to Chinese customers."

U.S. export restrictions have prevented AMD and Nvidia from selling advanced AI accelerators in China for more than two years to limit Beijing's access to potentially military-use technology. The curbs reduced China-related data-center revenue, causing lost sales, inventory write-downs, and lowered growth expectations. Recent U.S. policy adjustments allow limited shipments of compliant chips. Alibaba is considering purchasing 40,000–50,000 AMD MI308 accelerators. AMD has obtained some export licenses and will pay a 15% fee on approved sales. A large order would generate hundreds of millions in revenue and validate the MI308 as an alternative to Nvidia.

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