DeepSeek's AI models have reportedly boosted demand for NVIDIA's gaming GPUs in China, as consumers use lineups such as the RTX 50 GPUs to run AI models locally.
Chinese AI Firms Running DeepSeek Are Now Preferring NVIDIA's Consumer GPUs, Creating Demand Similar To Crypto-Mining Times
The ongoing AI frenzy in China doesn't look to stop for now, and with the advent of DeepSeek's R1 AI models, it has seen massive growth. Given that DeepSeek's achievements marked a new era of AI computing for the Chinese market, The Information, citing local smugglers, is now reporting in a paywalled article that the demand for NVIDIA's gaming GPUs, notably the GeForce RTX 5090, has seen a massive rise, given that accessing mainstream AI chips has become almost impossible.
DeepSeek's skyrocketing popularity has boosted demand for Nvidia's gaming chips in the underground market as tech firms realize they can run DeepSeek's models at a fraction of the price of AI chips, according to five chip smugglers.
- The Information
The report claims that individuals in the industry see it much more effective to run DeepSeek models on NVIDIA's consumer GPUs, rather than accelerators like the H20, which has ultimately created massive demand. And, given that China right now has access to "stripped-down" variants like the GeForce RTX 5090D, the demand is enormous that such models are being sold at "black market" prices, with the RTX 5090 reportedly going for up to $5,000, with availability being pretty slim.
The demand for NVIDIA's consumer GPUs, particularly the RTX 50 lineup, is at right now, and despite them facing problems like missing ROPs, it seems like the SKUs are an ideal choice for consumers as well as professionals. In addition, DeepSeek has disrupted the global AI market, and its models, notably the R1, are said to provide effective performance with consumer GPUs, leading to Chinese AI firms acquiring models like the RTX 5090, instead of going for pricey AI clusters.
NVIDIA has a wide edge over competitors in providing AI computational power through its consumer GPUs, given its high VRAM count and enhanced specifications. In particular, the RTX 5090 features AI TOPS at 3,352 and 5th Gen Tensor Cores, which makes it an ideal replacement for AI accelerators. This is why the demand in China for such GPUs is massive, with NVIDIA being a primary beneficiary.
About the author: Muhammad Zuhair is a hardware and technology reporter for Wccftech, specializing in the semiconductor industry and the complex interplay between technology, manufacturing, and geopolitics. His coverage focuses on the corporate strategies and technological roadmaps of industry giants like TSMC, NVIDIA, Samsung, and Intel. Zuhair's expertise lies in deconstructing complex topics such as fabrication nodes (e.g., 2nm process), the economic impact of policies like the CHIPS Act, and the strategic development of AI infrastructure from NVIDIA, AMD and Intel.
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