Chinese artificial intelligence lab Moonshot AI has been pursuing access to Nvidia’s advanced Blackwell graphics processing units (GPUs) through data centre capacity in Europe, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to CNBC. The company, which the White House accused in July of accessing the chips via a facility in Thailand, is seeking to lease large clusters of Blackwell GPUs for inference and possibly training.
Four people familiar with the matter told CNBC that deals had been discussed this year for Moonshot to rent capacity, and one source described the lab as “very aggressive” in its pursuit of computing power. One source said it had been proposed that Moonshot pay 30 to 50 per cent more upfront than a non-Chinese offtaker would. The source said arrangements with Chinese customers can be more lucrative upfront as neoclouds and financing firms look to hedge against a potential future ban on remote access agreements.
U.S. export controls effectively ban the shipment of Nvidia’s most advanced chips to China, but remote access via overseas data centres offers a loophole, as current law does not give regulators broad authority to control chips accessed through cloud services hosted overseas. Lawmakers have proposed the Remote Access Security Act (RASA), which would expand U.S. export controls to include cloud-based access to critical hardware and software. It passed the House of Representatives in January but has not passed the Senate.
Beijing-based Moonshot AI, founded in 2023, is one of China’s leading model builders. It released the Kimi K3 model in July, which it said closed the gap with systems built by Anthropic and OpenAI, and saw significant uptake as a cheaper alternative to U.S. offerings. Around that time, Moonshot said demand had stretched its capacity, temporarily pausing new subscriptions to prioritise compute for current members. “We’re adding capacity as fast as we can and will reopen new subscription spots in batches,” the company said in a LinkedIn post.
Nvidia’s effective monopoly on the most powerful chips makes U.S. export controls a key tool in Washington’s effort to preserve its advantage over China in the AI race. The Financial Times reported this week that Nvidia told cloud providers selling access to its chips that they must sell at least 51 per cent of services to non-Chinese customers. An Nvidia spokesperson said, “America cannot win the AI race unless America's AI infrastructure wins worldwide — if the world's clouds rely on foreign-made chips, the model and application layers will be foreign-built as well.”
Nvidia said in August that Washington had licensed some sales of its H200 AI chips, an older generation, but that those sales were restricted by the Chinese government, which has sought to boost domestic chipmakers by limiting access to Nvidia chips. Moonshot, Nvidia, the White House, the U.S. Department of Commerce, China’s embassy in the U.K. and its Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to a request for comment.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Highlights a critical loophole in US export controls: remote chip access via cloud services in third countries, which pending legislation seeks to close.
- Shows the intense pressure on Chinese AI labs to secure advanced compute, and their willingness to pay a significant upfront premium to get it.
- The outcome of the talks and the progress of the Remote Access Security Act could shape the balance of power in the global AI race.
Background
The US has restricted the export of advanced AI chips like Nvidia's Blackwell to China to maintain a technological edge. This has pushed Chinese AI companies to explore alternative routes for the immense computing power needed to train and run large language models, such as leasing capacity in data centres outside of China. The Biden administration flagged this practice in July when it accused Moonshot AI of accessing Blackwell chips via Thailand.
Key Perspectives
Moonshot AI: Described by sources as “very aggressive” in its pursuit of computing power, the company has sought to lease capacity in Europe, signaling a determined effort to overcome hardware bottlenecks. It has previously stated it is “adding capacity as fast as we can.”
Nvidia: The company's spokesperson argued that the US cannot win the AI race without a globally competitive AI infrastructure, but its reported policy of requiring cloud partners to allocate a majority of services to non-Chinese customers suggests an attempt to align with the intent of US export controls while maintaining global sales.
What to Watch
- Whether the Remote Access Security Act (RASA) progresses through the Senate, which would explicitly ban the cloud access loophole.
- Whether neocloud operators and financing firms are willing to finalise deals with Moonshot given the political risks involved.
- If Chinese domestic chipmakers scale quickly enough to reduce the dependency of firms like Moonshot on Nvidia hardware.
Checked
10 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 10 supported.
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- SupportedMoonshot AI is pursuing Nvidia Blackwell capacity in Europe, according to sources.Tech: “Moonshot AI, a Chinese artificial intelligence lab that the White House accused of accessing Nvidia advanced chips remotely in East Asia, has sought access to the chips through data centers in Europe, sources have told CNBC.”
- SupportedThe White House accused Moonshot of accessing Nvidia chips via a facility in Thailand.Tech: “In July, the White House said the Chinese AI lab had accessed Nvidia's Blackwell chips via a facility in Thailand.”
- SupportedMoonshot discussed access to European data-centre capacity.Tech: “Deals have been discussed this year for Moonshot to rent capacity from neoclouds hosting Nvidia graphics processing units, or GPUs, at facilities in Europe, four people familiar with the matter said.”
- SupportedUS lawmakers have proposed expanding export controls to cover cloud-based access to critical hardware and software.Tech: “In Washington, lawmakers have proposed the Remote Access Security Act (RASA) to expand U.S. export controls to include the cloud-based access of critical hardware and software.”
- SupportedMoonshot is seeking to lease large Blackwell GPU clusters for inference and possibly training.Tech: “Moonshot was interested in leasing capacity on clusters for inference, which refers to serving models to end users, in Europe, two of the sources said. One of the sources said they were also aware of interest in clusters for training.”
- SupportedFour people familiar with the matter told CNBC that Moonshot capacity-rental deals had been discussed this year.Tech: “Deals have been discussed this year for Moonshot to rent capacity from neoclouds hosting Nvidia graphics processing units, or GPUs, at facilities in Europe, four people familiar with the matter said.”
- SupportedA source described Moonshot as “very aggressive” in its pursuit of computing power.Tech: “They described the Chinese AI lab as "very aggressive" in its pursuit of more computing power.”
- SupportedIt was proposed that Moonshot pay 30 to 50 per cent more upfront than a non-Chinese offtaker.Tech: “One source said it had been proposed that Moonshot pay 30% to 50% more upfront than a non-Chinese offtaker would.”
- SupportedMoonshot said in a LinkedIn post, “We’re adding capacity as fast as we can and will reopen new subscription spots in batches.”Tech: “"We're adding capacity as fast as we can and will reopen new subscription spots in batches," the company said in a LinkedIn post.”
- SupportedAn Nvidia spokesperson said, “America cannot win the AI race unless America's AI infrastructure wins worldwide — if the world's clouds rely on foreign-made chips, the model and application layers will be foreign-built as well.”Tech: “Asked about the reports earlier this week, an Nvidia spokesperson said: "America cannot win the AI race unless America's AI infrastructure wins worldwide — if the world's clouds rely on foreign-made chips, the model and application layers will be foreign-built as well."”