AMD’s Response to US Export Controls: A China-Compliant AI Chip

KEY POINTS

• AMD is working towards developing an export-compliant AI chip for the Chinese market, in line with US export controls.
• Intel and Nvidia have already modified versions of their AI accelerators to meet these restrictions.
• Political debate continues over the potential tightening of export controls on AI accelerators to China.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is in the process of creating an AI chip that complies with the current US export restrictions for sale in China. This follows similar actions taken by competitors Nvidia and Intel, who have modified their AI accelerators to conform with the regulations. The political discourse around further tightening these controls continues, with potential implications for the tech industry.

AMD’s Efforts Towards Export Compliance

AMD’s move comes after restrictions were placed on the sale of AI accelerators into China. The company, while stressing the importance of the Chinese market, aims to be fully compliant with US export controls. Despite not revealing the exact nature of this compliant chip, AMD hinted at the potential use of APUs, GPUs, FPGAs, and embedded accelerators similar to those found in Ryzen 7040 mobile processors.

Current US Export Restrictions

The current US export restrictions limit the interconnect bandwidth of these cards to no more than 600GB/sec, barring the sale of high-end US-made GPUs and accelerators such as Nvidia’s A100, Intel’s Gaudi2, and AMD’s MI250X, into China. To circumvent this, Nvidia and Intel launched China-friendly versions of their AI accelerators with reduced capabilities.

While AMD, Intel, and Nvidia are adjusting to the current rules, the future of these regulations remains uncertain. Recent political debates have suggested stricter restrictions on the sale of AI accelerators to China. The argument revolves around the potential threat to American interests posed by the sale of US AI processors to other countries, proposing even lower interconnect speed limits. However, the final decision is still pending.

The potential change in regulations has sparked discussions among industry leaders. Notable chip companies like Intel and Qualcomm have engaged in conversations with Washington to discuss the impact of stricter rules on their businesses, reflecting the significance of these decisions on the global tech industry.