Nvidia tells cloud clients to sell at least 51% of services to non-Chinese firms

The chipmaker is tightening the rules for cloud providers that rent out its hardware as US pressure over AI chip diversion grows Nvidia has told its cloud computing clients that at least 51% of their services must go to companies that are not Chinese. It is a majority rule, written into the relationship between the world’s most in-demand chipmaker and the businesses that rent out its hardware. The instruction lands during a broader compliance crackdown. It reflects mounting pressure from Washington to keep advanced AI chips from reaching Chinese entities through side doors. What Nvidia is asking for The core requirement sets a floor. At least 51% of a cloud client’s services must be sold to non-Chinese companies. That number matters because it targets a specific gap in export rules. A chip can stay physically outside China while its computing power is rented out to Chinese firms over the internet. Nvidia’s threshold limits how much of a provider’s capacity can flow that way. The rule is one of several steps Nvidia has taken to tighten oversight of customers in Asia. In July 2026, the company cut its list of approved Asian customers by more than 50%, according to the research findin...