ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have reportedly placed Nvidia GPU orders worth about $35 billion, covering more than 3 million RTX Pro 5500 workstation cards. Sources said Nvidia had told customers it could not fulfill the requested volume because demand exceeded its planned production for the model.
The order totals, pricing and supply estimates have not been independently verified. The dollar figure represents the reported value of orders; payment and shipment details have not been established.
Reported pricing and supply limits
Two sources put the cards’ price at around $11,400 each, with the combined orders valued at approximately $35 billion. The reported quantities represent demand across the three companies, without a breakdown of how many cards each buyer requested.
Another source said Nvidia had informed partners that it might be able to deliver enough cards to satisfy only 5% to 10% of demand. That estimate suggests a substantial gap between the reported requests and potential deliveries, although the delivery period associated with the percentage was not specified.
Nvidia’s worldwide RTX Pro 5500 production is separately reported to be projected at 3 million cards in 2027. The relationship between that annual global production estimate and the reported 5% to 10% fulfillment figure is unclear. The figures do not establish how much of the projected output would be allocated to the three Chinese buyers.
Export controls shape the reported demand
The reported buying interest concerns a workstation GPU described as eligible for export to China under U.S. restrictions. That claimed eligibility has not been independently verified. It is central to the reported rationale for the orders, which concern hardware sought to support AI work amid restrictions on access to Nvidia’s dedicated AI processors.
An Nvidia spokesperson described Chinese demand for these chips as having experienced “unprecedented growth since 2022.” The spokesperson also addressed restrictions imposed by both the United States and China.
“U.S. firms continue to be restricted by a combination of outdated U.S. export controls, which cover gaming products released nearly half a decade ago, and China’s own limits on U.S. imports.”
Those remarks address Nvidia’s broader position on demand and trade restrictions. They do not confirm the reported order quantities, prices or delivery estimates for ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent.
