# Chinese AI labs are training models on Nvidia’s Blackwell despite export controls, says ex-OpenAI engineer

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/chinese-ai-labs-are-training-models-on-nvidias-blackwell-despite-export-controls-says-ex-openai-engineer/
- Published: 2026-11-13T21:16:22+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-13T22:03:27+00:00
- Original publisher: The Register
- Original article: https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/11/13/chinese-ai-labs-are-training-models-on-nvidias-blackwell-despite-export-controls-says-ex-openai-engineer/5309891
- Topics: AI, Asia, Technology, World

## Key points

- Analysis links six Chinese models to Nvidia Blackwell GPUs.
- The method compares hardware-specific patterns in published model weights.
- The findings raise questions about the effectiveness of US export controls.

## Summary

A former OpenAI engineer says forensic analysis of published model weights indicates that Chinese AI labs have trained models on Nvidia Blackwell GPUs, despite US export controls restricting those chips’ sale to China. If the findings are accurate, they suggest the controls are not preventing access to advanced hardware and may add pressure for tighter enforcement or new restrictions.

Will DePue’s consultancy says it compared weight patterns produced by Nvidia’s GPU initialisation process with those found in open models. After searching more than six trillion combinations of chip layout and seed number, it identified six Chinese models, including DeepSeek-V4-Pro, Kimi K3 and MiniMax-M3, as having Blackwell fingerprints; four were matched to GB200 or GB300 Grace Blackwell systems. The article also cites a separate report that found 32 Blackwell Ultra B300 GPUs exposed through monitoring endpoints in China.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.