Nvidia’s Reportedly Asking Chinese Customers to Pay Upfront for its H200 AI Chips
Nvidia now requires full upfront payment for H200 chips in China amid export uncertainty and soaring demand.
Matilda
Nvidia’s Reportedly Asking Chinese Customers to Pay Upfront for its H200 AI Chips
Nvidia Tightens Payment Terms for H200 AI Chips in China In a move that underscores growing geopolitical tensions and supply chain volatility, Nvidia is now demanding full upfront payment from Chinese customers for its flagship H200 AI chips—without the option for refunds or order changes. The policy shift, reported by Reuters and citing anonymous industry sources, arrives as both U.S. and Chinese regulators remain undecided on the chip’s official export status. For businesses racing to secure next-gen AI hardware, the new terms signal both urgency and risk. Credit: Costfoto/NurPhoto / Getty Images Why the H200 Matters in China’s AI Race The H200, Nvidia’s most powerful data center GPU to date, represents a critical resource in the global AI arms race. Chinese tech firms—including major cloud providers and AI startups—are eager to deploy the chip to power large language models and other compute-intensive applications. Despite U.S. export controls limiting access to top-tier AI hardware, d…
