Chinese fintech giant Ant Group, backed by Alibaba founder Jack Ma, is making headlines with claims of a major AI breakthrough that could shake up the global chip market — and Nvidia’s dominance in AI computing.
According to a Bloomberg report, Ant Group has developed new methods that cut AI training costs by 20%. What’s fueling this breakthrough? Ant reportedly used Chinese-made chips from both Alibaba and Huawei instead of relying on Nvidia’s industry-leading GPUs. Citing sources familiar with the tests, Bloomberg claims these homegrown Chinese chips performed on par with Nvidia’s during Ant’s internal trials.
If validated, this achievement could have serious implications for Nvidia, whose GPUs remain the gold standard for AI training globally. The chip giant already faced brief market jitters earlier this year when Chinese AI company DeepSeek was rumored to have models needing fewer chips, causing Nvidia’s stock to dip.
Ant’s reported success now adds new fuel to those concerns. If Chinese companies can replicate Nvidia’s performance without relying on U.S. chips, it would mark a major shift in the global AI chip race — especially amid tight U.S. export controls restricting advanced chip sales to China.
Despite those restrictions, Nvidia’s latest Blackwell chips are still reportedly making their way into the Chinese market, with demand for the company’s AI hardware staying high. However, if players like Ant Group prove Chinese alternatives are cost-effective and powerful, Nvidia’s hold on the AI chip market could face increasing pressure.
Ant’s breakthrough also aligns with China’s broader push for self-reliance in critical technologies, particularly as the U.S. continues tightening rules around AI chip exports. Whether this marks the start of a real shift or remains limited to a few major players like Ant Group and Alibaba remains to be seen.
For now, the competition in the AI chip arena is heating up — and Nvidia may no longer have the field to itself.
