Global firms could face penalties for using Huawei chips—Trump administration
What's the story
The Donald Trump administration has warned companies across the globe that they could face legal action for using artificial intelligence (AI) chips made by Chinese tech giant Huawei.
The US Commerce Department has warned that such usage could violate US export controls, leading to criminal penalties.
The directive comes mainly because certain Huawei chips, specifically the Ascend 910B, 910C, and 910D models, are believed to be developed with American technology.
Official statement
Clarification from Bureau of Industry and Security
The Bureau of Industry and Security has clarified that this warning is part of a stricter stance toward foreign AI chips.
Kevin Wolf, an experienced export-control attorney at Akin Gump, explained to the Financial Times that this guidance isn't a new restriction but an affirmation of an existing interpretation.
He further stated that even using a Huawei-designed advanced computing integrated circuit anywhere by anyone would breach export control rules.
Chip competition
US concerns over Huawei's rapid AI chip development
The US government's move against Huawei comes in response to the company's rapid development and delivery of advanced AI chip clusters to its Chinese clients.
The clusters consist of multiple 910C chips, which Huawei claims could collectively provide better performance than NVIDIA chips.
There are rising fears in the US that Huawei could soon start selling these AI processors at home and abroad, competing with NVIDIA and other American products.