In a development adding complexity to ongoing U.S.-China technology tensions, Representative John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), chair of the House Select Committee on China, has formally accused Nvidia Corporation of assisting the Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek in significantly enhancing its AI capabilities. These assertions stem from a recently disclosed letter directed to the U.S. Commerce Department, wherein Moolenaar detailed findings uncovered by his committee from internal Nvidia documents.
The documents reportedly demonstrate that Nvidia engineers provided technical guidance to DeepSeek, specifically focusing on optimizing algorithms, software, and hardware components integral to their AI models. This collaboration, according to the letter obtained by Reuters, enabled DeepSeek to train powerful AI models with markedly reduced computational resources compared to contemporary U.S. benchmarks.
Moolenaar highlighted internal Nvidia data indicating that DeepSeek utilized approximately 2.788 million GPU hours using Nvidia's H800 chips for AI training. Industry analysts note that this figure represents a significantly more efficient utilization of GPU hours than typically observed in developing frontier-scale AI models by U.S. companies such as OpenAI, Alphabet's Google, and Anthropic.
Such efficiency in AI training has drawn particular attention in Washington amid fears that China's AI advancements could narrow the technological gap while the United States enforces export controls on advanced chipsets. DeepSeek's unexpected AI breakthroughs garnered global notice early last year, due to their competitive performance relative to major U.S. AI systems despite operating with fewer computational resources.
DeepSeek's technology is suspected by U.S. officials to have contributed to Chinese military capabilities, although Moolenaar conceded that there was no public proof of military affiliation while Nvidia was providing its technical support. The congressman noted, "Nvidia treated DeepSeek accordingly — as a legitimate commercial partner deserving of standard technical support," underscoring that at the time of assistance Nvidia had no verified indication of military links.
Responding to these allegations, Nvidia issued a statement through Benzinga asserting that China does not depend on U.S. semiconductor chips for its military applications. The company emphasized, "China has more than enough domestic chips for all of its military applications," and argued that reliance on American technology by Beijing in military contexts would be implausible. Furthermore, the Nvidia spokesperson remarked, "The Administration’s critics are unintentionally promoting the interests of foreign competitors," highlighting a nuanced perspective on U.S. policy debates.
The Chinese embassy in Washington also denounced the accusations, characterizing them as a politicization of trade and technology concerns. This diplomatic pushback is consistent with China's broader stance on U.S. export restrictions and geopolitical tech disputes.
Amid this backdrop, regulatory adjustments concerning Nvidia's chip exports to China have been a recent flashpoint. The Trump administration authorized limited sales of Nvidia's newer H200 chips to Chinese customers under stringent conditions aimed at preventing use in military applications. These sales have faced bipartisan criticism within the United States. Moolenaar warned, "Chip sales to ostensibly non-military end users in China will inevitably result in violations of military end-use restrictions."
The latest export framework mandates that Chinese buyers demonstrate robust security protocols and formally verify that the chips will not be employed for military purposes. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has indicated that approvals in China will manifest through actual customer orders rather than public announcements. Concurrently, Nvidia has tightened commercial terms by requiring prepayment and binding contractual commitments from Chinese purchasers.
Market data on Wednesday revealed Nvidia's stock closed at $191.52, marking a 1.59% increase during regular trading hours before a slight decline in after-hours trading to $190.29. Despite a relatively modest valuation metric, according to Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings, Nvidia has exhibited strong price momentum across short, medium, and long-term outlooks.
The precise ramifications of these developments continue to unfold amid an evolving debate over semiconductor technology access, national security considerations, and international commerce regulations. Stakeholders within technology, government, and investment communities remain attentive to policy shifts and corporate disclosures that could influence both AI development trajectories and U.S.-China relations on technological fronts.