Sources say ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent ordered Nvidia cards worth more than $35 billion — Taipei Times
Chinese technology companies ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have ordered more than 3 million new Nvidia RTX PRO 5500 graphics cards with a total list value of more than $35 billion. This was reported by Taipei Times, citing two people familiar with the matter.
According to the sources, US-based Nvidia warned customers and partners that it cannot guarantee fulfillment of the orders because demand from Chinese technology companies significantly exceeds planned production volumes. A third source confirmed this information to the publication. All sources asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Demand exceeds production
One source said Nvidia warned partners that they may receive only 5–10% of the requested number of cards. Another source said the company indicated it could produce no more than 3 million RTX PRO 5500 units for the global market next year. At the same time, the total volume of orders from Chinese customers has already exceeded 6 million units, two sources said.
According to two sources, one RTX PRO 5500 card costs approximately $11,400. At that price, the potential total value of the three companies' orders exceeds $35 billion.
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Cards for workstations
The RTX PRO 5500 is a graphics processor for workstations, meaning powerful professional computers, rather than for large data center clusters that use the most advanced artificial intelligence processors. At the same time, this model is among Nvidia's most powerful products that are still available to Chinese buyers.
Exports of Nvidia's Blackwell-based B300 data center chip to China are prohibited under US export restrictions. Deliveries of the Hopper-based H200 model are considered individually and carried out under licensing conditions.
An Nvidia representative said Chinese manufacturers of chips and workstation cards have demonstrated unprecedented growth since 2022, when the restrictions were first introduced. ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent did not respond to requests for comment. According to the sources, Nvidia told customers that early samples are expected in December and commercial shipments are set to begin in the first quarter of next year.
