Nvidia Corp has reduced prices on some of its high-end artificial intelligence chips in China by up to 20%, according to an exclusive Reuters report.
The cuts are interpreted as a strategic move to stay competitive against domestic Chinese tech company Huawei.
The discount applies to the A800 chip, which is Nvidia's alternative to the A100 chip.
Nvidia began shipping the A800 chip to mainland China after its cutting-edge A100 chip came under an export ban implemented by the Biden administration.
US tech sanctions against China are aimed at limiting the Communist Party’s acceleration of military-grade AI technology, but they are also proving a headache for Nvidia.
In the group’s first-quarter earnings call this Wednesday, senior Nvidia executives warned of "substantially" lower Chinese sales because of the export restrictions.
"Our data centre revenue in China is down significantly from the level prior to the imposition of the new export control restrictions in October," said chief financial officer Colette Kress. "We expect the market in China to remain very competitive going forward."
Despite the China warning, Nvidia flew past analysts’ expectations to deliver a mega earnings beat that added hundreds of billions of dollars to the chipmaking giant’s valuation.