Chinese AI companies purchased 1 million Nvidia GPUs within a single year to address a significant deficit in domestic computing power. While national production of AI chips has doubled, the country faces a shortfall of nearly 1.5 million units, with domestic output reaching 3.5 million against a demand exceeding 5 million.
To bridge this gap, firms are repurposing Nvidia gaming and workstation processors that comply with U.S. export regulations. The hardware includes RTX Pro 6000D, RTX Pro 5000, and RTX 5090 models. These units are primarily utilized for simpler AI tasks, such as prefilling, as they cannot match the performance of flagship domestic chips like the Huawei Ascend 910C.
The high demand for Nvidia hardware is partly attributed to the CUDA software ecosystem, which remains more popular than the Huawei Cann alternative. This surge in procurement has placed immense pressure on the consumer GPU market, causing prices for enthusiast-grade cards to spike significantly.
The RTX 5090, which carries an MSRP of $1,999, is now rarely available through third-party resellers, with prices reaching at least $7,199. Meanwhile, reports suggest Nvidia may halt RTX 5090 production to introduce a 24GB RTX 5080 flagship, signaling a potential shift in the enthusiast gaming hardware landscape.
