Written by Karen Freifeld
The Biden administration announced on Wednesday that it has added over two dozen Chinese entities to a U.S. restricted trade list. This includes companies like Zhipu AI, a developer of large language models, and Sophgo, a company whose chip was illegally used in a Huawei artificial intelligence processor.
The Commerce Department has also tightened controls on chip exports to China to prevent them from being diverted to Huawei.
Zhipu AI, Sophgo, and other related entities have been added to the U.S. Commerce Department’s Entity List. This means that these companies cannot receive goods or technology exports without a license, which is usually denied.
Zhipu AI, funded by Alibaba and Tencent, was added to the list for its role in advancing China’s military modernization through AI research.
Sophgo came under scrutiny after a chip found in Huawei’s AI system matched one it ordered from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
Since Huawei was placed on the Entity List in 2019, it has become a focal point of China’s AI chip ambitions.
Sophgo, an affiliate of Bitmain, and Huawei have not yet responded to the recent additions to the Entity List.
The U.S. has also imposed stricter rules on the export of semiconductors that can be used for AI applications. These new regulations build on existing measures aimed at limiting China’s access to chips that could aid its military.
The latest restrictions impact companies producing chips at 14 or 16 nanometer nodes or below for AI applications, beyond just TSMC.
Chipmakers can avoid licensing requirements by meeting certain conditions, such as working with approved designers and chip packagers.
The rule also includes tighter controls on DRAM memory, which is crucial for making high bandwidth memory used in AI processors.
Companies like Changxin Memory Technologies may be affected by the DRAM restrictions.
Entities are added to the Entity List for activities deemed contrary to U.S. national security or foreign policy interests.
The Chinese embassy in Washington has not yet responded to the recent developments.
These new rules are part of a series of export restrictions implemented in the final weeks of the Biden administration. Earlier this week, the U.S. unveiled a plan to regulate the development of advanced AI globally.