Today’s Cache | Demand heats up for Nvidia’s H200 chips; Intel faces scrutiny over China links; Silicon Valley explores humanoid robots

Demand heats up for Nvidia’s H200 chips

Nvidia is looking into the possibility of increasing its production capacity due to rising demand for its H200 AI chips, according to unnamed sources. The news comes after U.S. President Donald Trump gave permission for Nvidia to export its H200 processors to China, while collecting a fee for the sales. Chinese companies are demanding Nvidia’s chip in spite of Beijing’s urging for them to rely on home-grown tech, according to sources. Amidst worries of a shortage for U.S. users, Nvidia confirmed to Reuters that it was managing its supply chain to make sure that “licensed sales of the H200 to authorised customers in China will have no impact on our ability to supply customers in the United States.”

While Chinese internet and AI giants such as Alibaba and ByteDance are in touch with Nvidia about buying the H200 and hope to place large orders, the Chinese government has not yet issued its formal approval for purchases of Nvidia’s chips. The company’s H200 chips are manufactured by TSMC using its 4nm manufacturing process technology.

Intel faces scrutiny over China links

Intel is again in the spotlight after unnamed sources claimed that the U.S. chipmaker tested chipmaking tools from ACM Research, whose foreign units were among those blocked from accessing U.S. tech. ACM Research, which is based in Fremont, California, denied the allegations. However, its units in Shanghai and South Korea were barred in 2024 from receiving U.S. technology, as they were accused of supporting the Chinese government in its aim to access commercial tech for military use cases.

The two tools are called wet etch tools, which are used for removing material from the silicon wafers that are transformed into semiconductors. Per reports, they were tested for possible use in Intel’s 14A process. This is not the first time Intel has been scrutinised over links to China, as U.S. President Donald Trump previously called on CEO Lip-Bu Tan to resign, claiming that he had conflicts of interest. This was due to Tan’s alleged ties to advanced Chinese tech companies.

Silicon Valley explores humanoid robots

While humanoid robots were once seen as experiments or gimmicky tech products, the boom in Generative AI has triggered more founders and technologists into exploring their potential. More users have also expressed interest in a physical form-factor for evolving AI models. At the Humanoids Summit founded by venture capitalist Modar Alaoui, more than 2,000 people came to take part. Meanwhile, robotics engineers from Disney, Google, and startups took the opportunity to showcase their work in the robotics space and discuss ideas to take the sector forward.

For example, Disney’s walking robotic version of “Frozen” character Olaf will be roaming through Disneyland theme parks in Hong Kong and Paris next year. The pressing questions continue to be when such humanoid robots will become a norm, as well as contribute to the productivity of their owners rather than serving as objects of awe and curiosity.