The US government has announced new rules aimed at controlling other countries' access to US-developed chips and artificial intelligence technologies. Reuters explains how the new rules will work.
What chips are subject to the restrictions
The new rules apply to GPUs - specialized processors originally designed to speed up graphics processing. While best known for their role in gaming, the capabilities of GPUs such as those made by US industry leader Nvidia, including the H100, have made them valuable for training and running AI models.
The restrictions apply to the processing power of the chips, measured in terms of Total Processing Performance (TPP). By 2027, most countries will be limited to 790 million TPP, which is the equivalent of about 50,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs.
What the new measures mean
The US is expanding restrictions on the export of advanced GPUs used to train AI models. It has also created exemptions for cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, which are granted a special status called "Universal Verified End User."
For companies with this status, higher limits have been set: up to 320,000 GPUs over the next two years. These measures will help the US control the use of advanced chips and prevent them from entering countries that pose a risk, including China.
The US will also regulate the use of so-called "model weights" - numerical parameters that determine the results of AI operations. This innovation is aimed at protecting the most advanced "closed" models, which are not public.
According to experts, these restrictions should ensure the safe development and use of advanced AI in partner countries.
Are there any exceptions?
Yes, for small orders - up to 1,700 GPUs - no license is required, just a notification to the government. This includes orders from universities, medical institutions, and research organizations.
Exceptions also apply to GPUs for gaming.
Which countries can receive an unlimited number of AI chips?
In total, eighteen countries are exempt from the advanced GPU limits: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
As a reminder, Chinese universities and research institutes have gained access to advanced AI chips from Nvidia through intermediaries, despite the US ban on selling such technology to China.
Similarly, despite Western sanctions, Russia's military industry continues to gain access to American semiconductors, which are used to produce weapons actively deployed against Ukraine.
