The U.S. government notified Intel Corporation that prior approval is required to export AI-related chips to China, extending restrictions previously imposed on NVIDIA.
Reuters reported on Wednesday that Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan informed customers of the new requirement for prior approval to export products with DRAM bandwidth exceeding 1,400 GB per second to China.
According to Reuters, Intel advised customers that exports to China will require approval if their products meet the following criteria: DRAM bandwidth over 1,400 GB per second, input/output bandwidth surpassing 1,100 GB per second, or a combined total exceeding 1,700 GB per second.
The benchmarks are significantly lower than the specifications of Intel’s AI chip series, Gaudi, and restrict the export of these product lines.
Analysts suggest this export limitation may not significantly impact Intel’s overall revenue. Reuters noted that Intel’s Gaudi chips fell short of their internal revenue target of 5 million USD for 2024, with a market share below 1%, limiting the impact on performance.
The semiconductor industry is concerned that restrictions on Intel’s Gaudi series, following those on NVIDIA’s H20 series, could dampen global IT investments in AI technologies.
In response to heightened U.S. restrictions on China between 2021 and 2022, NVIDIA introduced the lower-spec H20 model, a less powerful alternative to its flagship H100 product.
This move was a strategic response to limitations on exporting high-spec AI chips to China.
The export restrictions appear to have been triggered after the Chinese startup DeepSeek implemented high-spec AI language models using the H20 and various domestic AI chips.
Reuters assessed that the threat of tariffs burdens companies’ investments, leading to a decline in investment sentiment for AI semiconductors.
