In response to U.S. export restrictions, leading chipmaker Nvidia is gearing up to unveil a modified, slower version of its gaming processor tailored for the Chinese market. The new product, Nvidia RTX 4090D, is slated for release in January and features a performance adjustment to adhere to regulatory constraints.
The product page targeting Chinese consumers on Nvidia’s website highlights a key alteration—the RTX 4090D boasts 11% fewer CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture) cores compared to its counterparts sold outside of China. CUDA cores are analogous to CPU in graphics processing units (GPUs).
While Nvidia did not provide immediate comments when approached by CNBC, a company spokesperson informed Reuters that the chip has been meticulously crafted to align with U.S. government export controls. The spokesperson stated that Nvidia engaged extensively with U.S. authorities during development, emphasizing the chip’s compliance with regulatory guidelines.
The U.S. government has imposed export restrictions on China, specifically targeting chips crucial for AI applications. However, gaming-focused processors are also affected due to their potential applications in artificial intelligence. The Nvidia RTX 4090 was on the list of banned U.S.-made chips, as indicated in an October 17 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Nvidia’s website describes the RTX 4090D chip as leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance performance.
Despite these regulatory challenges, Nvidia has experienced substantial success in 2023, with its shares more than tripling in value year-to-date. The company’s surge in demand is attributed to the widespread enthusiasm for artificial intelligence, buoyed by the considerable impact of OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot.
