China lets Alibaba, Tencent order NVIDIA's supercharged H200 AI chips
China just gave Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance the go-ahead to buy NVIDIA's last-generation H200 AI chips—a big step toward building next-level data centers.
This "in-principle" approval allows them to proceed with preparations to purchase the chips and comes as hyperscalers are spending billions on data centers; the tech could help power the future of AI in China.
Why does this matter?
The H200 isn't just any chip—it packs 141GB of ultra-fast memory and can process info way faster than older models (think 3.4x better for complex tasks).
It even speeds up scientific computing by up to 110 times compared to regular CPUs.
With NVIDIA's CEO betting the AI chip market could hit $50 billion soon, and rivals like Huawei gearing up too, this move could shake up the global tech race.