US Department of Commerce

government

Last mentioned: Feb 24, 2026

Timeline

  1. Blackwell Breach Confirmed

    US officials confirm DeepSeek used banned Blackwell chips for its latest model training.

  2. DeepSeek R1 Launch

    DeepSeek releases a model that rivals GPT-4o, sparking questions about their hardware access.

  3. Rules Tightened

    Commerce Dept closes loopholes allowing the sale of slightly slowed-down chips like the H800.

  4. Initial Export Controls

    US imposes first major restrictions on high-end AI chip exports to China.

Stories mentioning US Department of Commerce 1

Geopolitics Neutral

China's DeepSeek Bypasses US Sanctions to Train AI on Nvidia's Blackwell Chips

A Trump administration official has confirmed that Chinese AI startup DeepSeek utilized Nvidia's most advanced Blackwell-series chips to train its latest models, directly violating US export controls. This revelation underscores the persistent challenges in enforcing semiconductor bans and suggests a sophisticated global gray market for high-end AI hardware.

3 sources