Chinese Regulators Bar ByteDance from Using Nvidia Chips in New Data Centres
GeokHub
Contributing Writer
BEIJING, Nov 26, 2025 — In a significant policy shift, Chinese regulators have reportedly prohibited ByteDance — the owner of TikTok — from deploying Nvidia chips in its new data‑centre infrastructure. The decision comes as part of a broader move by Beijing to reduce reliance on U.S.-made technology amid intensifying global pressure over semiconductor access.
ByteDance had been the largest purchaser of Nvidia chips among Chinese firms in 2025, seeking to secure high‑performance computing power for its vast user base. But under the new restrictions, the company will no longer be allowed to use those imported GPUs in its planned data‑centres. The regulatory clampdown reflects Beijing’s accelerating push toward developing and deploying domestically produced AI and data‑centre hardware.
The Chinese government has previously urged local tech firms to halt new orders for Nvidia’s AI chips, encouraging them instead to adopt home‑grown processors. Additional guidance has reportedly required that state‑funded data‑centre projects use only Chinese‑made AI chips going forward.
Nvidia, for its part, acknowledged the challenging environment, signaling that regulatory obstacles make it difficult to offer a competitive data‑centre GPU solution in China under the current restrictions. ByteDance has not publicly commented on the matter.
Trend
Pentagon Proposes Adding Alibaba, Baidu, BYD to List of Companies Supporting China’s Military
Why This Matters
The ban marks a clear signal of China’s accelerating pivot toward technological self‑sufficiency — particularly in strategic sectors like artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure. For global chip makers such as Nvidia, the move threatens a core overseas market, potentially reshaping the international landscape of semiconductor commerce.
For ByteDance, the restriction could disrupt expansion plans for computing infrastructure, forcing the company to rely on less powerful domestic alternatives or rework its AI/data‑processing strategies. On a broader scale, the development underscores growing tensions in global semiconductor supply chains — a dynamic that could influence technology development, export controls, and competitive balance worldwide.
As Beijing doubles down on local tech development, this could spur a new wave of investment and innovation in China’s domestic chip sector, while simultaneously curtailing the influence of foreign hardware in the country’s digital ecosystem.
