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Six Chinese AI models show traces of Nvidia Blackwell chips, a forensic study finds
See how this story connectsUnemployment Labs analysed the published weights of models from DeepSeek, Moonshot AI, MiniMax and Ant Group and reports that six released since April 2026 match Nvidia’s Blackwell hardware, while earlier models from the same labs match the older Hopper generation. The report estimates that each training run needed roughly 500 to 3,000 Blackwell GPUs for two to three months, or six to eight weeks for DeepSeek-V4-Flash. It says the evidence shows access to advanced computing hardware but does not establish where the chips were located, how access was obtained or whether export controls were violated.
Why it matters
Blackwell chips need a US licence to be exported to China and none has been reported; the report finds technical evidence of access by four Chinese labs and says it does not establish whether export controls were violated.
- When
- 12 Nov 2026
- ID
WTA-N-2026-0883- Where
- China, United States
- Who
- Unemployment Labs, DeepSeek, Moonshot AI, MiniMax, Ant Group
Summary written with AI by wheresthe.ai, from Unemployment Labs and the reporting credited above. Checked against the source on 12 Nov 2026.
Source copy: saved on 12 Nov 2026 to check this story and not republished, because the text belongs to its publisher. Also held by the Internet Archive.
Cite this story
WTA-N-2026-0883: “Six Chinese AI models show traces of Nvidia Blackwell chips, a forensic study finds.” wheresthe.ai, 12 Nov 2026. https://wheresthe.ai/d/cn-six-chinese-ai-models-show-traces-of-nvidia-blackwell-chips-2026-11/ (source: Unemployment Labs).
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