FT: Nvidia requires cloud partners to sell at least 51% of services to non-Chinese firms

What happened

The Financial Times reported on Nov. 2-3, 2026, citing five people familiar with the matter, that Nvidia has instructed its cloud computing and data-center clients worldwide to ensure at least 51% of their services are sold to non-Chinese companies under future contracts. The verbal guidance, delivered through Nvidia's sales staff and regional teams in recent months rather than in writing, effectively caps Chinese customers at 49% of new business. Nvidia neither confirmed nor denied the report to AFP; Reuters said it could not independently verify it. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said she was not aware of the report.

Who’s affected

• NVDA (Nvidia) — tighter export-compliance posture could constrain future sales growth channels but aligns with US policy, reducing regulatory risk
• Cloud/neocloud operators renting Nvidia GPUs (e.g. CoreWeave-type providers, Singapore/Asia data centers) — must rebalance customer mix, raising commercial risk
• Chinese tech firms (Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance) — another offshore compute-rental avenue narrows, raising their AI-training costs
• Semiconductor sector broadly — continued US-China tech decoupling pressure

Sources

siliconreport.comtechxplore.comad-hoc-news.de