Tag: export
China’s AI Industry Barely Slowed By US Chip Export Rules
Part of the U.S. strategy in setting the rules was to avoid such a shock that the Chinese would ditch U.S. chips altogether and redouble their own chip-development efforts. “They had to draw the line somewhere, and wherever they drew it, they were going to run into the challenge of how to not be immediately disruptive, but how to also over time degrade China’s capability,” said one chip industry executive who requested anonymity to talk about private discussions with regulators. The export restrictions have two parts. The first puts a ceiling on a chip’s ability to calculate extremely precise numbers, a measure designed to limit supercomputers that can be used in military research. Chip industry sources said that was an effective action. But calculating extremely precise numbers is less relevant in AI work like large language models where the amount of data the chip can chew through is more important. […] The second U.S. limit is on chip-to-chip transfer speeds, which does affect AI. The models behind technologies such as ChatGPT are too large to fit onto a single chip. Instead, they must be spread over many chips – often thousands at a time — which all need to communicate with one another.
Nvidia has not disclosed the China-only H800 chip’s performance details, but a specification sheet seen by Reuters shows a chip-to-chip speed of 400 gigabytes per second, less than half the peak speed of 900 gigabytes per second for Nvidia’s flagship H100 chip available outside China. Some in the AI industry believe that is still plenty of speed. Naveen Rao, chief executive of a startup called MosaicML that specializes in helping AI models to run better on limited hardware, estimated a 10-30% system slowdown. “There are ways to get around all this algorithmically,” he said. “I don’t see this being a boundary for a very long time — like 10 years.” Moreover, AI researchers are trying to slim down the massive systems they have built to cut the cost of training products similar to ChatGPT and other processes. Those will require fewer chips, reducing chip-to-chip communications and lessening the impact of the U.S. speed limits.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
James Cleverly discusses bypassing Russia & export support on Kazakhstan visit
JAMES Cleverly looks ready fur business on an official visit to Kazakhstan.
The Foreign Secretary was in the central Asian nation to discuss export support, bypassing former ally Russia.
James Cleverly poses for a picture during his visit to Kazakhstan[/caption]
The Foreign Secretary was in the central Asian nation to discuss export support[/caption]
He met Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and senior officials before signing a memorandum on supplies of critical minerals.
Mr Cleverly also said the UK “greatly appreciates” the refusal of Kazakhstan to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
He said: “The UK greatly appreciates Kazakhstan’s consistent and principled position in supporting Ukraine’s territorial integrity and your desire to bring about resolution to the war in line with the UN charter.”
Mr Cleverly discussed the disruptions in Kazakh oil exports.
He also discussed ways to support the development of alternative routes such as the so-called Middle Corridor.
Cleverly and Kazakh diplomats said they have signed a memorandum on critical minerals such as rare earth metals, but provided no details about it.
Mr Cleverly met Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev[/caption]
The Netherlands To Block Export of Advanced Chips Printers To China
“Given the technological developments and geopolitical context, the government has concluded that it is necessary for the (inter)national security to expand the existing export controls on specific manufacturing equipment for semiconductors,” Foreign Trade Minister Liesje Schreinemacher wrote in a letter to Dutch lawmakers published Wednesday evening. The Dutch government wants to prevent Dutch technology from being used in military systems or weapons of mass destruction, Schreinemacher wrote — echoing the U.S. reasoning when it imposed its own export controls in October. The Netherlands also wants to avoid losing its pole position in producing cutting-edge chip manufacturing tools: Schreinemacher said the government wants to uphold “Dutch technological leadership.” While China is not explicitly named in Schreinemacher’s letter, the new policy is targeted at Chinese efforts to overtake the U.S. and others like Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and leading European countries in the global microchips supply chain.
The new export restrictions deal a blow to ASML, the global leader in producing advanced microchips printing machines based in Veldhoven, in southern Netherlands. In the letter, Schreinemacher said the new export control measures include the most advanced deep ultraviolet (DUV) machines, which are part of ASML’s advanced chips printers portfolio. The Dutch firm, which is the highest-valued tech company in Europe, already did not receive export licenses for selling its most advanced machines using extreme ultraviolet light (EUV) technology to China since 2019. ASML in a statement confirmed it will now “need to apply for export licenses for shipment of the most advanced immersion DUV systems,” but it noted it has not yet received more details about what “most advanced” means.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Dutch Chip Equipment Maker ASML’s CEO Pushes Back Against US Export Rules On China
In response to U.S. claims that advanced chips owned by China pose a threat to national security due to military applications and the rise of artificial intelligence, Wennink said: “What constitutes national security is for Americans to determine. But it is common knowledge that chip technology for purely military applications is usually ten, fifteen years old. The technology used to make such chips can still be sold to China. Artificial intelligence requires the most advanced chips. They are made with EUV and are therefore not produced in China. But those chips are simply sold, also to the Chinese. American chip manufacturers have no problem with China as a customer.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Biden weighs U.S. fuel export limits as Northeast diesel stockpiles dwindle
How to Export a Cell Range or Excel Workbook as a PDF
If you want to share data from Excel without sharing the Excel file, you can export a selection of cells or the entire workbook as a PDF. The result is a super handy document you can share any way you want.