In a rare show of unity, several Chinese AI chipmakers have formed an alliance with domestic AI model startup StepFun to push back against Nvidia’s renewed presence in China. StepFun, one of China’s top six large language model startups, launched the “AI-Chip Ecosystem Alliance” in Shanghai with partners including Huawei Ascend, Cambricon, Biren, and Moore Threads – all direct rivals to Nvidia in the GPU and AI chip space.
The alliance aims to optimize StepFun’s latest foundational model, Step 3, for domestic chips, which are often limited by lower performance and lack of access to advanced manufacturing. Step 3 is designed to run efficiently on local chips without requiring high compute power or memory bandwidth.The partnership follows the US government’s tightening of export restrictions, which temporarily halted Nvidia’s AI chip sales to China. While Nvidia’s H20 chip is now cleared for export, the alliance signals China’s growing push for self-reliance in AI infrastructure. [Caixin, in Chinese]
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