A Chinese tech giant says it slashed AI costs using only Chinese chips

Earlier this year, DeepSeek briefly crashed Nvidia’s stock because of speculation that its models require far fewer chips.

Now, Chinese fintech giant Ant Group, which is backed by Alibaba founder Jack Ma, is claiming a major AI breakthrough. Ant was able to use Chinese chips made by Alibaba and Huawei to create methods that cut AI training costs by 20%, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. 

What’s more, the Chinese-made chips performed about as well as Nvidia chips during Ant Group’s tests, Bloomberg sources claim.

If these Chinese chips catch on, it could harm Nvidia’s current and highly lucrative status as the most popular AI chip producer.

Nvidia chips remain highly-sought after, including in China, where buyers are reportedly getting its latest Blackwell chip despite U.S. export controls.

Ant Group and Nvidia didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.