ByteDance had bought more Nvidia chips than any other Chinese firm in 2025 as it raced to secure computing power.

Chinese regulators have barred TikTok-owner ByteDance from deploying Nvidia chips in new data centres.

The tech publication The Information first reported the development on Wednesday, citing two company employees.

ByteDance bought more Nvidia chips than any other Chinese firm in 2025 as it raced to secure computing power for its billion-plus users amid concerns the United States could curb supply, according to the report.

The reported ban underscores Beijing’s efforts to reduce reliance on US technology, a campaign that has intensified as Washington tightens curbs on exports of advanced semiconductors to China.

In August, Chinese regulators asked local firms to halt new orders of Nvidia AI chips and have since pushed companies to adopt homegrown processors, Bloomberg reported, citing people close to Chinese tech regulators.

“The regulatory landscape does not allow us to offer a competitive data centre GPU in China, leaving that massive market to our rapidly growing foreign competitors,” a Nvidia spokesperson told the Reuters news agency.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported that the Chinese government had issued guidance requiring new data centre projects that have received any state funds to only use domestically-made artificial intelligence (AI) chips.

China is accelerating plans to build an alternative AI ecosystem and achieve chip self-sufficiency, even as trade tensions with Washington remain in a fragile pause.

Washington has barred sales of Nvidia’s most advanced chips to China, allowing only scaled-down versions, such as the H20. Nvidia had introduced a China-specific chip, but demand has been tepid, with some major tech firms opting not to place orders.

Following talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month, US President Donald Trump said that Washington will “let them deal with Nvidia but not in terms of the most advanced” chips.

On Wall Street, Nvidia stock is up by 1.8 percent in midday trading.