ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent ordered more than 3 million Nvidia chips in a deal worth over $35bn, according to The Next Web on Tuesday. The massive purchase covers RTX PRO 5500 graphics cards, though the manufacturer has warned customers it cannot guarantee full fulfillment due to overwhelming demand.
Key takeaways
- ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent placed orders for over 3 million Nvidia graphics cards with a sticker price exceeding $35bn.
- Nvidia warned buyers they might receive only 5% to 10% of what they requested because planned production cannot keep up.
- US export restrictions prevent Chinese firms from buying top-tier processors, driving heavy interest in the RTX PRO 5500 instead.
- Buyers intend to use the workstation hardware primarily for inference tasks such as running trained models for chatbots.
What prompted the massive orders for Nvidia chips in China?
The three Chinese tech companies agreed to pay about $11,400 per unit for the RTX PRO 5500 hardware, Reuters reported on Tuesday. Nvidia told partners to expect early samples in December, with commercial deliveries starting in the first quarter of 2027. Two sources noted that total orders from customers in China have already passed 6 million units, while Nvidia expects to manufacture no more than 3 million of these cards worldwide throughout 2027.
Last year, domestic firms ignored a similar product called the RTX 6000D because they hoped Washington would permit purchases of stronger processors. That hope faded as trade curbs stayed active and computing capacity remained scarce. Nvidia eventually stopped making the RTX 6000D, and its market price inside China subsequently doubled.
How do US export controls affect hardware availability?
Washington rules bar sales of advanced processors like the Blackwell-based B300 to China, and review H200 exports on a case-by-case basis. Because of these restrictions, the RTX PRO 5500 stands out as one of the most powerful options local buyers can acquire. The hardware is designed for professional workstations rather than massive data-center clusters, and buyers plan to use the cards mainly for inference work.
Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang previously stated that US trade rules reduced the firm's share of China’s AI data-center chip market from a near monopoly to practically nothing. An Nvidia spokesperson told Reuters that Chinese makers of workstation chips have experienced unprecedented growth since restrictions began in 2022.
What happens next for buyers and suppliers?
Two sources expect Nvidia to shift much of its TSMC manufacturing capacity toward Rubin, its upcoming platform for large data centers, starting in 2027. Meanwhile, local firms continue turning toward domestic suppliers such as Huawei, and Alibaba introduced its Zhenwu V900 processor in September. ByteDance, Alibaba, Tencent, TSMC and government agencies in the US and China did not respond to requests for comment.
Frequently asked questions
ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent placed the large hardware orders reported by Reuters on Tuesday.
Total orders from customers in China have surpassed 6 million units, while Nvidia plans to make no more than 3 million RTX PRO 5500 cards globally in 2027.
The three tech companies are paying approximately $11,400 per card according to sources familiar with the transaction.
The buyers plan to use the workstation cards primarily for inference, which is the process of running trained models to answer chatbot requests.
Chinese firms showed little interest in the RTX 6000D last year because they hoped Washington would allow sales of more powerful processors instead.
Based on reporting by The Next Web. Read the original article
