US officials are deliberating imposing restrictions on the quantity of AI accelerators that Nvidia can sell to individual Chinese companies, potentially hindering the chipmaker's re-entry into a critical market. The Trump administration is contemplating capping Chinese firms at purchasing 75,000 of Nvidia's H200 chips each, a move that could have significant implications for the technology sector. Additionally, shipments of Advanced Micro Devices' MI325 chips, which offer similar functionalities, would also contribute to a customer's restriction under this proposal. These AI accelerators are highly sought-after in the technology industry for their role in creating and operating artificial intelligence models.

While the total exports to China could still surpass a million units, sources indicate that the Trump administration previously set an upper limit during the regulatory review process. However, the predominant demand for these accelerators is concentrated among a select group of Chinese tech giants, making the per-customer caps a significant factor in distribution. It is estimated that companies like Alibaba Group Holding and ByteDance, among others, could potentially receive hundreds of thousands of units collectively under the proposed 75,000 limit, which falls significantly short of the demand expressed by these firms.

Both Advanced Micro Devices and the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, responsible for overseeing chip export licenses, have refrained from providing comments on the matter. Nvidia chose not to respond to inquiries, and companies like Alibaba and ByteDance remained silent outside of regular business hours, indicating the sensitivity and complexity of the discussions surrounding the potential restrictions.