Report: Moonshot seeks Nvidia Blackwell access via Europe neoclouds

Chinese AI lab Moonshot AI has sought access to advanced Nvidia chips hosted at facilities in Europe, sources told CNBC.

Talks have focused on European neoclouds hosting Nvidia Blackwell GPUs. Four people familiar with the matter told CNBC that deals have been discussed this year for Moonshot to rent capacity from neoclouds at European facilities. Three of those sources said Moonshot was looking to lease capacity powered by Nvidia's Blackwell systems, which are subject to U.S. export controls that effectively ban their import into China. Source: CNBC ↗

Discussions have included clusters of about 8,000 or more GPUs as reported interest, not secured capacity. One source told CNBC that talks for arrangements that would see Moonshot rent access to clusters of 8,000 or more Blackwell GPUs hosted in the region have taken place, describing the lab as "very aggressive" in its pursuit of more computing power. Two sources said Moonshot was interested in leasing capacity on clusters for inference; one of those sources was also aware of interest in clusters for training. That is reported interest, not a confirmed training deal.

Remote access remains a reported export-control loophole. CNBC notes that U.S. export controls restrict shipment of Nvidia's most advanced chips to China, but current law does not give regulators broad authority to control companies' access to those chips through overseas cloud services. In July, the White House said Moonshot had accessed Nvidia Blackwell chips via a facility in Thailand. Moonshot, Nvidia, the White House, and the U.S. Commerce Department did not respond to CNBC's request for comment.

No signed European lease has been confirmed. The reporting describes talks and reported interest, not a completed contract. DigiTimes separately reported the same remote-access theme in a teaser. DigiTimes teaser ↗