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Chinese AI Labs Allegedly Access Nvidia Blackwell GPUs Despite Export Controls

Chinese AI Labs Allegedly Access Nvidia Blackwell GPUs Despite Export Controls

First seen 13 Nov 2026, 21:47 UTC • •
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ThreatCluster AI
ThreatCluster •November 13, 2026 at 21:48 UTC
  • •Chinese AI firms are reportedly using Nvidia's Blackwell GPUs despite export restrictions.
  • •Forensic analysis identified six models with distinct Blackwell hardware signatures.
  • •The findings have been independently verified by researchers from OpenAI and Anthropic.

A forensic analysis by Will DePue reveals that Chinese AI companies DeepSeek, Moonshot AI, MiniMax, and Ant Group have utilized Nvidia's Blackwell GPUs, which are subject to U.S. export restrictions. The analysis identifies six models released since April 2026 that exhibit numerical patterns consistent with Blackwell hardware, while earlier models align with the older Hopper generation. This suggests that these companies have gained access to advanced computing resources, although the exact means of access and location of the hardware remain unclear. U.S. officials had previously suspected this activity but lacked technical evidence until now. The findings indicate significant computing power was required for training these models, estimated at 12,000 Blackwell GPUs combined. The analysis has been verified by senior researchers at OpenAI and Anthropic, confirming the methodology and results.

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Updated 1d ago How this analysis works

Timeline

2026-11-12
Forensic analysis published
Will DePue's report reveals technical evidence of Chinese AI labs using Nvidia Blackwell GPUs.
News.Ycombinator
2026-11-13
Findings confirmed by OpenAI researchers
Senior researchers at OpenAI and Anthropic validated DePue's forensic analysis methods and results.
The-Decoder

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Common questions

What AI models are implicated?
The models include DeepSeek-V4-Flash, MiniMax-M3, DeepSeek-V4-Pro, Kimi K3, Kimi K3.1-Pro, and Ling-3.1-flash.
How was the evidence obtained?
The evidence was derived from the published weights of the AI models, revealing patterns consistent with Nvidia's Blackwell GPUs.
What are the implications of these findings?
These findings suggest potential violations of U.S. export controls and raise concerns about the capabilities of Chinese AI labs.