From Startup Fortune · · 2m
Researcher Finds Fingerprint of Banned Nvidia Chips in Six Chinese AI Models
Six Chinese AI models show hidden Nvidia Blackwell chip signatures, raising export control questions.
In brief
Six Chinese AI models show hidden Nvidia Blackwell chip signatures, raising export control questions. Researcher claims six Chinese AI models were trained on banned Nvidia Blackwell chips, sparking legal and export control concerns. Originally reported by Startup Fortune.
Researcher Claims Six Chinese AI Models Use Banned Nvidia Chips
Will DePue published a report on 12 November saying six models from DeepSeek, Moonshot, MiniMax and Ant Group were initialised on Nvidia's Blackwell chips.
“conclusive forensic evidence”
Method Detects Hardware Fingerprint in AI Models
DePue says starting weights show hardware patterns that survive training, matching 24 models where developers disclosed their hardware.
“the starting values of its weights are generated in a pattern that depends on the exact gpu and the random seed”
Evidence Strength Ranges from 49 to 1,385 Standard Deviations
The evidence for six models ranges from 49 to 1,385 standard deviations above chance, with the weakest test reaching 20.
“20. standard deviations”
Blackwell B300 Reproduces Starting Weights Bit for Bit
A Blackwell B300 reproduced DeepSeek-V4-Flash's starting weights using the recovered seed, while an older H100 did not.
“bit for bit”
Report Does Not Name Singapore or Megaspeed
The report does not name Singapore or Megaspeed, and these are separate from the six models.
“the report does not name singapore or megaspeed”
Estimated Cost of Blackwell GPUs for Models
DePue estimates the largest clusters used 2,000 to 3,000 Blackwell GPUs each at $150 million to $200 million per cluster.
“two thousand to three thousand blackwell gpus”
Washington Tightens AI Chip Export Rules
The Commerce Department clarifies that advanced AI chip export licenses apply to China-headquartered companies even when overseas subsidiaries are the buyers.
“the commerce department clarifies”
Who Has Checked the Findings
DePue claims independent verification by OpenAI and Anthropic researchers, but no labs or Nvidia have responded.
“independently verified by senior researchers at openai and anthropic”
Questions Raised by the Findings
Where were the chips? Does the scale fit? What did Nvidia know? Can the rules catch this? Who is checking?
“the questions this raises”
California CEO Charged in Chip Smuggling Scheme
Federal prosecutors charged Greg Lui with smuggling more than $300 million in Nvidia-powered servers to China via Malaysia and Singapore.
“more than three hundred million”
What Happens Next
The labs, Nvidia or independent researchers must respond to the findings before the story settles.
“the labs, nvidia or outside researchers respond”
The bottom line
Researcher claims six Chinese AI models were trained on banned Nvidia Blackwell chips, sparking legal and export control concerns.
