AMD says it'll jump through Uncle Sam's hoops to sell AI chips to China
(2023/08/03)
- Reference: 1691024832
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/08/03/amd_chips_china_export/
- Source link:
After the US slapped restrictions on the sale of AI accelerators into China, Nvidia – and later Intel – launched nerfed versions of their silicon that could be shipped to the Middle Kingdom without Uncle Sam blowing his stack. Now AMD is working on an export-compliant processor of its own to sell overseas.
"China is a very important market for us, certainly across our portfolio, as we think about certainly the accelerator market," AMD CEO Lisa Su told analysts during the Ryzen maker's [1]Q2 earnings call with Wall Street analysts on Tuesday.
"Our plan is to of course be fully compliant with US export controls, but we do believe there's an opportunity to develop a product for our customer set in China that is looking for AI solutions, and we'll continue to work in that direction."
[2]
What this accelerator might look like, Su didn't specify. However AMD, like Intel, has more than a few options for addressing the Chinese market. The American chip designer's current AI roadmap includes APUs, GPUs, FPGAs, and embedded accelerators like those found in Ryzen 7040 mobile processors.
[3]
[4]
What we do know is that US export restrictions implemented last year placed limits on the interconnect bandwidth of these cards at no more than 600GB/sec. This refers to the speed at which the accelerators can exchange data – an important factor when training parameter-heavy AI workloads like large language models.
The limits barred the sale of top-spec US-made GPUs and accelerators – including Nvidia's A100, Intel's Gaudi2, and AMD's MI250X, into China.
[5]
But not for long. Within a month of the rules going into effect, Nvidia [6]announced a borked version of its A100 that halved the memory and cut the interconnect bandwidth to two thirds. The graphics giant then launched the China-friendly H800, based on its Hopper architecture, earlier this year.
[7]Intel woos China with nerfed Habana Gaudi2 AI chips
[8]Make chips, not trade wars, says Semiconductor Industry Association
[9]Chips ahoy! US and China locked in self-destructive battle of trade restrictions
[10]AMD hopes for rebound in the second half of the year as Q2 profits plunge 94%
Intel joined the party in July with the [11]launch of the Gaudi2 HL-225B, which was designed specifically for the Chinese market. To comply with US trade restrictions, Intel curbed the interconnect bandwidth by roughly 17 percent.
For AMD to sell its existing MI200-series parts in China, the biz would also need to cut back its GPU interconnect speed. Judging from the MI250X's [12]spec sheet , the house of Zen would likely need to chop off at least two of the chip's eight 100GB/sec Infinity Fabric links.
However, the degree to which chipmakers may need to nerf their chips could end up a moving target, if the Biden administration enacts even stiffer restrictions on the sale of AI accelerators to China.
Last week, two House reps – Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) – both of whom serve on a select committee monitoring the Chinese Communist Party, made the case that existing trade restrictions didn't go [13]far enough .
[14]
The duo argued that the sale of US AI processors to other countries still poses a threat to American interests, and that the interconnect speed limits should be even lower.
Whether the White House moves forward with tighter restrictions is still up for debate – particularly with an election coming up. Several notable chip titans, including Intel and Qualcomm, recently traveled to Washington to [15]discuss the impact of stricter rules on their businesses. ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/02/amd_q2_results/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZMsmYuA9UKt1AOsBa9CDzAAAAIM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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[6] https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/08/chipmakers_alter_products_china_ban/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/13/intel_guadi_china/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/18/sia_semiconductor_trade_war/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/17/us_china_chip_wars/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/02/amd_q2_results/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/13/intel_guadi_china/
[12] https://www.amd.com/en/products/server-accelerators/instinct-mi250x
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/28/us_china_ai_chip/
[14] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZMsmYuA9UKt1AOsBa9CDzAAAAIM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/17/us_china_chip_wars/
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
"China is a very important market for us, certainly across our portfolio, as we think about certainly the accelerator market," AMD CEO Lisa Su told analysts during the Ryzen maker's [1]Q2 earnings call with Wall Street analysts on Tuesday.
"Our plan is to of course be fully compliant with US export controls, but we do believe there's an opportunity to develop a product for our customer set in China that is looking for AI solutions, and we'll continue to work in that direction."
[2]
What this accelerator might look like, Su didn't specify. However AMD, like Intel, has more than a few options for addressing the Chinese market. The American chip designer's current AI roadmap includes APUs, GPUs, FPGAs, and embedded accelerators like those found in Ryzen 7040 mobile processors.
[3]
[4]
What we do know is that US export restrictions implemented last year placed limits on the interconnect bandwidth of these cards at no more than 600GB/sec. This refers to the speed at which the accelerators can exchange data – an important factor when training parameter-heavy AI workloads like large language models.
The limits barred the sale of top-spec US-made GPUs and accelerators – including Nvidia's A100, Intel's Gaudi2, and AMD's MI250X, into China.
[5]
But not for long. Within a month of the rules going into effect, Nvidia [6]announced a borked version of its A100 that halved the memory and cut the interconnect bandwidth to two thirds. The graphics giant then launched the China-friendly H800, based on its Hopper architecture, earlier this year.
[7]Intel woos China with nerfed Habana Gaudi2 AI chips
[8]Make chips, not trade wars, says Semiconductor Industry Association
[9]Chips ahoy! US and China locked in self-destructive battle of trade restrictions
[10]AMD hopes for rebound in the second half of the year as Q2 profits plunge 94%
Intel joined the party in July with the [11]launch of the Gaudi2 HL-225B, which was designed specifically for the Chinese market. To comply with US trade restrictions, Intel curbed the interconnect bandwidth by roughly 17 percent.
For AMD to sell its existing MI200-series parts in China, the biz would also need to cut back its GPU interconnect speed. Judging from the MI250X's [12]spec sheet , the house of Zen would likely need to chop off at least two of the chip's eight 100GB/sec Infinity Fabric links.
However, the degree to which chipmakers may need to nerf their chips could end up a moving target, if the Biden administration enacts even stiffer restrictions on the sale of AI accelerators to China.
Last week, two House reps – Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) – both of whom serve on a select committee monitoring the Chinese Communist Party, made the case that existing trade restrictions didn't go [13]far enough .
[14]
The duo argued that the sale of US AI processors to other countries still poses a threat to American interests, and that the interconnect speed limits should be even lower.
Whether the White House moves forward with tighter restrictions is still up for debate – particularly with an election coming up. Several notable chip titans, including Intel and Qualcomm, recently traveled to Washington to [15]discuss the impact of stricter rules on their businesses. ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/02/amd_q2_results/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZMsmYuA9UKt1AOsBa9CDzAAAAIM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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[6] https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/08/chipmakers_alter_products_china_ban/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/13/intel_guadi_china/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/18/sia_semiconductor_trade_war/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/17/us_china_chip_wars/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/02/amd_q2_results/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/13/intel_guadi_china/
[12] https://www.amd.com/en/products/server-accelerators/instinct-mi250x
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/28/us_china_ai_chip/
[14] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZMsmYuA9UKt1AOsBa9CDzAAAAIM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/17/us_china_chip_wars/
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/