Report: China's Moonshot AI Trained Kimi K3 on Nvidia Blackwell Chips via Circumvention
According to reporting by Tom's Hardware, Chinese AI company Moonshot AI reportedly used Nvidia Blackwell chips to train its Kimi K3 model. The report suggests the company found ways to bypass both U.S. export controls designed to restrict advanced chip shipments to China, as well as Chinese import regulations.
The Nvidia Blackwell architecture represents the latest generation of AI accelerator chips from Nvidia. U.S. export controls have progressively restricted China's access to advanced semiconductors deemed capable of advancing artificial intelligence capabilities with potential military applications.
The Kimi K3 model is the latest in Moonshot AI's series of large language models, which have gained prominence in the Chinese AI ecosystem for their reasoning and language processing capabilities.
This report highlights the ongoing challenges authorities face in enforcing technology restrictions, as companies seek alternative pathways to access advanced computing hardware for AI development.