07:43 AM EST, 12/10/2025 (MT Newswires) -- (Update with Nvidia's ( NVDA ) response in the third paragraph.)

Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek has been developing its next major model using several thousand Nvidia ( NVDA ) Blackwell chips that were smuggled into China, The Information reported Wednesday, citing six people with knowledge of the matter.

The US has prohibited the Blackwell chips from being exported to China, according to the report.

"We haven't seen any substantiation or received tips of 'phantom datacenters' constructed to deceive us and our OEM partners, then deconstructed, smuggled, and reconstructed somewhere else," an Nvidia ( NVDA ) spokesperson told MT Newswires via e-mail. "While such smuggling seems farfetched, we pursue any tip we receive."

DeepSeek didn't immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.

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