--- title: "Shadow Race: How Alibaba and Moonshot Bypass Nvidia Chip Embargo for AI Development" description: "Bloomberg revealed details of the shadow race for Nvidia chips: Alibaba provided startup Moonshot with a cluster of 20,000 H200 accelerators for training AI models Kimi. πŸ€–πŸ‡¨πŸ‡³ Despite the embargo, Chinese companies are finding workarounds, including renting power in Thailand and using distillation methods, to compete with Western developments. πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡ΈπŸš«" date: 2026-08-02T14:17:25.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/alibaba-moonshot-nvidia-chips-20000-en tags: [alibaba, moonshot, nvidia, kimi, ai-chips] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Shadow Race: How Alibaba and Moonshot Bypass Nvidia Chip Embargo for AI Development ![Massive Nvidia GPU accelerators on a server board: a symbol of technology that China is trying to access through shadow schemes](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/02/alibaba-moonshot-nvidia-chipy-20000/alibaba-moonshot-nvidia-chipy-20000-1.webp) In the world of artificial intelligence, a hidden battle for computing resources is unfolding. Despite strict US export restrictions on advanced chips to China, local startups are finding ways to develop their models. Bloomberg has uncovered details of a massive collaboration between giant Alibaba and startup Moonshot, the developer of the popular Kimi model. ### 20,000 Chips on Rent Previously, The Information reported that Moonshot might be using the latest Nvidia Blackwell accelerators, the supply of which to China is officially banned. However, new data from Bloomberg clarifies the picture: Alibaba agreed to provide the startup with a computing cluster equipped with 20,000 Nvidia H200 chips. These accelerators belong to the Hopper generation and are architecturally inferior to Blackwell, but their quantity compensates for the performance difference. The agreement between the companies allows Moonshot to rent Alibaba's computing power, which forms the basis of the infrastructure for training the Kimi series models. This partnership is not a coincidence: Alibaba is one of Moonshot's largest investors. Traditionally, the Chinese internet giant provides computing resources to companies in which it invests capital. ### Official Silence and Hidden Conflicts Alibaba representatives, in comments to Bloomberg, denied rumors about the transfer of specifically H200 chips, but did not deny that the total number of Nvidia accelerators transferred reached 20,000 units. This ambiguity is characteristic of the current situation, where companies are forced to balance between business development and compliance with sanction norms. Within Alibaba, cooperation with Moonshot evokes mixed feelings. The success of the Kimi models, which successfully compete with Alibaba's own Qwen family developments, has caused disappointment among some executives of the holding. In fact, Alibaba has cultivated a serious competitor for itself by providing it with the necessary resources. ### Workarounds and Distillation Methods US officials are convinced that access to more powerful Nvidia Blackwell accelerators is available not only to Moonshot but also to another Chinese startup, Deepseek. It is assumed that companies could have rented these chips through intermediaries, for example, from a provider located in Thailand. Furthermore, the US believes that Moonshot used the distillation method of the advanced Fable model from the American company Anthropic when training the Kimi K3 model. This approach allowed for impressive results to be achieved using limited computing resources. US legislation does not prohibit Chinese developers from renting power with advanced chips outside of China, but strictly limits their acquisition in ownership. Supplies of Nvidia H200 accelerators to China through official channels have so far been measured in insignificant volumes, making shadow rental schemes and domestic cooperation a key factor in the development of Chinese AI.