However, the degree to which these chips may need to be modified could change if the Biden administration imposes stricter restrictions on the sale of AI accelerators to China. Two House representatives, Mike Gallagher and Raja Krishnamoorthi, have argued that existing trade restrictions are not sufficient and that the interconnect speed limits should be even lower. The potential for tighter restrictions is still being debated, with several chip companies, including Intel and Qualcomm, recently discussing the impact of stricter rules on their businesses in Washington.
Key takeaways:
- AMD is planning to develop an export-compliant AI accelerator for the Chinese market, following similar moves by Nvidia and Intel, in response to US restrictions on the sale of AI accelerators to China.
- The US export restrictions limit the interconnect bandwidth of these cards to no more than 600GB/sec, which has led to the creation of 'nerfed' versions of top-spec US-made GPUs and accelerators for the Chinese market.
- Intel and Nvidia have already launched China-friendly versions of their AI accelerators, with reduced interconnect bandwidth to comply with US trade restrictions.
- There is potential for even stricter restrictions on the sale of AI accelerators to China, as some US politicians argue that the current restrictions do not go far enough to protect American interests.