Mackenzie Hawkins

I cover tech & geopolitics for @business. Not on here much but always reachable (default off-record) at [email protected] or mackhawk.71 on Signal

[Mackenzie Hawkins @mackhawk]

New: Chinese firms aim to install ~115,000 advanced Nvidia chips in dozens of AI data centers. Construction is underway. DeepSeek wants to collaborate

What’s unclear is how they plan to get hardware that the US has effectively banned from sale to China

🧵https://t.co/R9MhZhK5RR

[Mackenzie Hawkins @mackhawk]

& this one was with great colleagues in the Bloomberg newsroom

I'm gonna go back to being off this website now but if you have info on travel restrictions in China — or other tips, Qs, complaints (be nice) — I'm @/mackhawk.71 on Signal. DM for WeChat
https://t.co/aZ6Ez7NjPq

[Mackenzie Hawkins @mackhawk]

I’ve covered a lot of DC debates over what AI chip policy *should be*

But this week, the argument is over what the policy *has been*

Paywall-free explanation of the Nvidia China loophole drama: https://t.co/dHe2bZGcEP

[Mackenzie Hawkins @mackhawk]

& free links to other China-getting-Nvidia-chips stuff:

The Thai AI firm allegedly involved in the Super Micro smuggling scandal: https://t.co/knySpS0v2g

Taiwan's first attempt to crack down on chip diversion, the (possibly first) case focused on Japan: https://t.co/1nPOTUJUOE

[Mackenzie Hawkins @mackhawk]

New: Records filed with Chinese regulators suggest a little-known computing company procured hundreds of Super Micro servers with banned Nvidia H100/H200 chips

The firm is the parent of one of Nvidia’s few official cloud partners in China

Free to read: https://t.co/1ypoZB0z5H

[Mackenzie Hawkins @mackhawk]

I’m not on this site much these days, but I’m always happy to talk about chips on Signal @/mackhawk.71. I treat messages there as off record unless agreed otherwise & take source protection very seriously

Here's the free link to our Megaspeed story

12/12
https://t.co/lybxtaARYa

[Mackenzie Hawkins @mackhawk]

New: Nvidia’s biggest Southeast Asian partner imported tens of thousands more AI chips than Nvidia saw in its data centers, told potential investors about a “specific area” facility in an unnamed country — & has something of a Chinese corporate twin

1/ https://t.co/lybxtaARYa

[Mackenzie Hawkins @mackhawk]

There's a lot more in our piece, which is free to read for a week. It was a big team effort with @imandylin2, @KariSoo1, @villeheiskanen & many others

This story isn't just about export controls enforcement. It's also about underlying policy — for China & everywhere else

11/

[Sankalp Phartiyal @sankalp_sp]

Scoop: OpenAI is seeking to build a massive new data center in India that could mark a major step forward in Asia for its Stargate-branded artificial intelligence infrastructure push https://t.co/jzcKTjGJAl with @mackhawk

[Mackenzie Hawkins @mackhawk]

Lutnick confirmed talks between the admin & Intel for the US to take a stake in the chipmaker, casting the plan as a bid to turn Chips Act grants into equity

“It’s not governance, we’re just converting what was a grant under Biden into equity,” Lutnick told CNBC. “Non-voting.”

[Mackenzie Hawkins @mackhawk]

Trump admin is in talks for a 10% stake in Intel that would involve converting some/all of the company’s Chips Act grants into equity. Nothing finalized

Intel has been in line for $7.9b in grants for commercial manufacturing & $3b for military production https://t.co/U7nk08XiMW

[Mackenzie Hawkins @mackhawk]

This was almost exactly a year ago btw:

[Mackenzie Hawkins @mackhawk]

New: Intel is hemorrhaging cash. It wants $ from the Chips Act, up to an $8.5b grant & $11b loan, ASAP

Right now the company & Biden admin are stuck in a holding pattern — with no guarantee of when, or if, that money will be disbursed

🧵& free link: https://t.co/F3aZH4rfy7

[Mackenzie Hawkins @mackhawk]

Trump admin is in talks for a 10% stake in Intel that would involve converting some/all of the company’s Chips Act grants into equity. Nothing finalized

Intel has been in line for $7.9b in grants for commercial manufacturing & $3b for military production https://t.co/U7nk08XiMW