China has given DeepSeek approval to buy Nvidia’s H200 artificial intelligence chips with regulatory conditions still being finalized, according to Reuters. ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent have been allowed to purchase over 400,000 H200 chips in total. Nvidia CEO has not received confirmation and China is still finalizing the license.

China’s industry and commerce ministries have granted approvals with conditions yet to be finalized. The National Development and Reform Commission will decide on these conditions. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Commerce, and NDRC did not comment on the matter.

DeepSeek, known for cost-effective AI models, did not respond to requests for comment. The H200 chip, Nvidia’s second most powerful AI chip, has caused tension in U.S.-China relations. Despite U.S. approval for exports, Beijing’s reluctance to allow imports has been a hindrance.

U.S. has cleared Nvidia to sell the H200 to China but Chinese authorities have final say on shipments. Any DeepSeek purchases of H200 chips may face scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers. A senior U.S lawmaker alleged Nvidia assisted DeepSeek in developing AI models used by the Chinese military.

DeepSeek is set to launch its V4 AI model with enhanced coding capabilities in mid-February. The Information reported on this development earlier this month.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: China conditionally approves DeepSeek to buy Nvidia’s H200 chips, sources say