Alibaba and ByteDance allegedly train Qwen and Doubao LLMs using Nvidia chips, despite export controls — Southeast Asian data center leases skirt around U.S. chip restrictions

Chinese tech giants like Alibaba and ByteDance are reportedly training their advanced AI models, Qwen and Doubao LLMs, using Nvidia chips in Southeast Asia to bypass U.S. export controls. By utilizing data centers in Singapore and Malaysia with Nvidia GPUs, these companies are able to train their models effectively. Despite restrictions on selling advanced GPUs to China, leasing compute power from overseas data centers remains legal. This strategy allows Chinese firms to achieve performance levels comparable to Western AI labs while complying with current regulations. Additionally, Chinese companies are increasingly using domestic chips for deployment and user interactions in AI workloads.