Nvidia’s New 51% Rule Could Restrict China’s Access to AI Chips Through Overseas Data Centers

Nvidia has reportedly instructed its global data center partners to limit business with Chinese customers, requiring cloud providers using Nvidia chips to generate at least 51% of their revenue from customers outside China. Chinese clients would be capped at 49% under the reported policy, which applies to new contracts worldwide.
The move could disrupt a workaround used by Chinese AI companies such as Alibaba and ByteDance, which have rented computing capacity from overseas data centers in Singapore and Malaysia to access Nvidia chips despite U.S. export restrictions.
Nvidia reportedly communicated the new requirement verbally through its sales and regional teams rather than issuing written instructions. The company neither confirmed nor denied the report. Meanwhile, China's share of Nvidia's data center AI chip market fell to 34% in the first half of 2026, according to IDC, as domestic competitors such as Huawei gained ground.