NVIDIA maintains that DeepSeek primarily used H800 chips

Nvidia has developed chips that may be restricted for export to certain countries due to national security concerns. These often include high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs) or specialized chips designed for AI and machine learning applications. If a report mentions "banned" Nvidia chips, it typically refers to any technology subject to export restrictions in relation to specific geopolitical concerns.

NVIDIA maintains that DeepSeek primarily used H800 chips. The H800 was a version of the H100 specifically modified by NVIDIA to meet U.S. export rules (with lower interconnect speeds) so it could be legally sold in China before further restrictions were added in late 2023.  

​Efficiency, Not Smuggling: NVIDIA’s leadership argued that DeepSeek’s success was due to "mathematical and architectural breakthroughs" (algorithmic efficiency) rather than illegal hardware. They used the news to argue that if a company can do this much with limited chips, the demand for more powerful chips will only increase globally.

​Why it Wiped Billions from the Stock Market

​The news caused a market crash in January 2025 for two reasons:

​1. Investors feared the U.S. government would retaliate with even harsher sanctions on NVIDIA, potentially cutting off all business with China or placing extreme oversight on their global supply chain.

​2. There was a fear that if DeepSeek could build world-class AI for $6 million on older/slower chips, then the "trillions" being spent by U.S. companies (Microsoft, Google, Meta) on massive NVIDIA clusters might be unnecessary, threatening NVIDIA's future revenue.