AMD Cleared to Resume MI308 AI GPU Sales in China

[AleksandarK]

AMD has confirmed that it will soon restart shipments of its MI308 data center GPUs to China, following confirmation from the US Department of Commerce that its export license applications will proceed for approval. The news closely follows NVIDIA's announcement that it, too, expects to resume sales of its H20 AI chips in China. Both companies had been restricted under previous US export rules, which targeted high-end AI hardware. AMD's MI308, a custom version of its MI300 series, was designed specifically to meet those regulatory limits. The company told Tom's Hardware it plans to begin shipments as soon as licenses are granted. "We applaud the progress made by the Trump Administration in advancing trade negotiations and its commitment to US AI leadership," said an AMD spokesperson.

This shift in US policy comes as a relief for AMD, which previously estimated that the export restrictions could cost it around $800 million in inventory and related commitments. While not as large as NVIDIA's $5.5 billion hit, it was still a significant blow. With China remaining a massive available market, AMD and NVIDIA have both developed chips tailored to meet US guidelines. However, these products are time-consuming to design and difficult to repurpose for other markets. Investors welcomed the update, with AMD shares rising nearly 5% in pre-market trading. For now, the reopening of China's AI chip market signals a more flexible trade stance and renewed opportunities for US tech firms, especially as Chinese AI labs were deprived of high-end silicon.



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[thesmokingman]

Hence why they rallied today.

 

[Space Lynx]

if AI cards are so in-demand, why would this have been a 800 million dollar blow? couldn't they have just found another buyer? all sounds like a scam to me, that's pretty much all this world is

 

[Onasi]

if AI cards are so in-demand, why would this have been a 800 million dollar blow?

…because a lot of said demand IS from Chinese companies? I am not sure why this is hard to understand. There is no comparable market in terms of volume.

 

[ThomasK]

if AI cards are so in-demand, why would this have been a 800 million dollar blow? couldn't they have just found another buyer? all sounds like a scam to me, that's pretty much all this world is

"these products are time-consuming to design and difficult to repurpose for other markets"

 

[Dr. Dro]

if AI cards are so in-demand, why would this have been a 800 million dollar blow? couldn't they have just found another buyer? all sounds like a scam to me, that's pretty much all this world is

No, buyers for these products are only Chinese AI companies. American AI companies get the model with no limitations and thus superior powers efficiency.

Moreover, since these accelerators do not have a 3D graphics engine, so they cannot render graphics. It's pure GPGPU. That makes it very difficult to repurpose them for other markets.