Chinese tech giants place $35bn in orders for Nvidia RTX Pro 5500 GPUs, far exceeding supply

Reports say ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent ordered over 3 million of the export-compliant workstation cards, but Nvidia can only fulfill a fraction of the demand.

By LineZotpaper

Published20 October 2026

Read Time2 min

Chinese technology giants ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have reportedly placed orders worth over $35 billion for more than 3 million Nvidia RTX Pro 5500 workstation GPUs, a chip compliant with U.S. export restrictions on AI-capable hardware. However, sources indicate Nvidia has told customers it can only meet 5% to 10% of that demand, as the order far exceeds planned production for this card.

According to sources who spoke to Reuters, the three Chinese firms each placed orders for the RTX Pro 5500, a workstation GPU that shares the same number of CUDA cores as Nvidia's flagship RTX 5090 but packs 84GB of GDDR7 memory, making it well-suited for AI workloads. The card is currently not restricted under U.S. export controls, unlike Nvidia's more powerful enterprise-focused H200 and B300 GPUs, which remain banned or heavily restricted for sale to China.

Priced at around $11,400 each, according to two sources, the total order value reaches $35 billion. A separate source said Nvidia has indicated it may only be able to deliver enough cards to cover between 5% and 10% of that demand. Globally, Nvidia is reportedly in a position to produce only 3 million RTX Pro 5500 units in 2027.

Neither Nvidia nor the three Chinese companies have confirmed any of this on the record. However, an Nvidia spokesman told Reuters that demand from the Chinese market for these chips has faced "unprecedented growth since 2022" since export restrictions were introduced. The spokesman added, "U.S. firms continue to be restricted by a combination of outdated U.S. export controls, which cover gaming products released nearly half a decade ago, and China's own limits on U.S. imports."

The report highlights the continued appetite for Nvidia hardware in China despite U.S. efforts to restrict exports of advanced AI chips. Export-restricted Nvidia AI chips have also continued to reach China through other channels, bypassing the restrictions.

Analysis

Why This Matters

The massive order underscores the insatiable demand for AI computing power in China, even under tightening U.S. export controls, and the lengths firms will go to secure available hardware.
The production shortfall illustrates how U.S. export policies, while designed to slow China's AI progress, can create bottlenecks that also affect Nvidia's ability to serve global markets.
The situation could intensify the U.S.-China tech rivalry, with potential implications for trade policy, AI development timelines, and global chip supply chains.

Background

The RTX Pro 5500 is a workstation GPU that Nvidia designed for professional graphics and AI workloads, but it lacks the performance of its data-center-specific chips like the H200 and B300. The U.S. government has imposed export restrictions on advanced AI semiconductors to China, citing national security concerns. These controls have been updated periodically, often listing specific chips by performance thresholds. The RTX Pro 5500 falls below those thresholds, making it legally exportable to China. Nvidia has previously noted that export restrictions have spurred Chinese firms to seek alternative or less powerful chips, and also driven domestic Chinese chip development.

Key Perspectives

Nvidia: The company is caught between strong demand from Chinese customers and U.S. export rules. It has publicly argued that the restrictions are outdated and create market distortions, while still trying to comply and serve what customers it can. Chinese tech firms (ByteDance, Alibaba, Tencent): They face a pressing need for GPUs to train and run AI models. With top-tier chips restricted, they are turning to the most capable export-compliant alternative, the RTX Pro 5500, and are willing to place massive orders to secure supply. U.S. policymakers: Their goal is to limit China's access to advanced AI hardware to protect America's technological edge. However, the scale of these orders suggests Chinese firms are stockpiling any capable chips they can get, potentially undermining some of the controls' intent. They may also view this as a sign that existing rules need tightening.

What to Watch

Whether the U.S. government revises export controls to cover the RTX Pro 5500 or similar workstation cards, potentially escalating the trade conflict.
How Nvidia allocates the limited RTX Pro 5500 supply between Chinese and non-Chinese customers, and whether other buyers face shortages.
Any announcements from ByteDance, Alibaba, or Tencent about their own AI chip development or alternative sourcing strategies.

Sources

China’s tech giants drop $35 billion on export-compliant Nvidia RTX Pro 5500 workstation GPU orders to power AI ambitions, according to reports · Latest from Tom's Hardware

Checked

11 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 8 supported.

Show each claim

SupportedThe headline says Chinese technology firms placed $35 billion in orders for the RTX Pro 5500.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Chinese technology giants ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have reportedly spent over $35 billion on orders for more than 3 million Nvidia RTX Pro 5500 workstation GPUs.”
SupportedThe headline says the orders far exceed Nvidia’s planned production for the card.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “The huge order for the RTX Pro 5500, fully compliant with U.S. restrictions on exports of AI-capable GPUs to China, is reportedly far beyond Nvidia's planned production for this card.”
SupportedByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent reportedly ordered more than 3 million RTX Pro 5500 cards.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Chinese technology giants ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have reportedly spent over $35 billion on orders for more than 3 million Nvidia RTX Pro 5500 workstation GPUs.”
Partly supportedEach of the three companies placed orders for the RTX Pro 5500.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Chinese technology giants ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have reportedly spent over $35 billion on orders for more than 3 million Nvidia RTX Pro 5500 workstation GPUs.”
Partly supportedNvidia can meet only 5% to 10% of the demand.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Meanwhile, another source suggested that Nvidia has informed its partners that it may only be able to deliver enough cards to meet between 5% and 10% of the demand.”
SupportedAn Nvidia spokesman said demand from China had faced “unprecedented growth since 2022”.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “However, an Nvidia spokesman told Reuters that demand from the Chinese market for these chips has faced "unprecedented growth since 2022" since export restrictions were introduced.”
SupportedThe Nvidia spokesman said: “U.S. firms continue to be restricted by a combination of outdated U.S. export controls, which cover gaming products released nearly half a decade ago, and China's own limits on U.S. imports.”Latest from Tom's Hardware: “"U.S. firms continue to be restricted by a combination of outdated U.S. export controls, which cover gaming products released nearly half a decade ago, and China's own limits on U.S. imports."”
SupportedThe cards are priced at around $11,400 each, putting the total order value at $35 billion.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Two of its sources revealed that the cards are priced at around $11,400 each, reaching a total order value of $35 billion.”
SupportedNvidia is reportedly positioned to produce only 3 million RTX Pro 5500 cards globally in 2027.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Meanwhile, Nvidia is reportedly in a position to only produce 3 million RTX Pro 5500 cards globally in 2027.”
SupportedNeither Nvidia nor the three Chinese companies confirmed the reported information on the record.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Neither Nvidia nor the three Chinese companies have confirmed any of this on the record.”
Partly supportedExport-restricted Nvidia AI chips have continued to reach China through other channels.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Meanwhile, export-restricted Nvidia AI chips continue to reach China despite the restrictions, bypassing the Trump administration's efforts in the process.”