# Moonshot AI seeks Nvidia Blackwell access via European neoclouds amid US export curbs

Digest AI · Hardware & Compute · published 2026-11-05T13:34:14Z

Canonical: https://digestai.news/story/moonshot-ai-seeks-nvidia-blackwell-access-via-european-neoclouds-amid

## Summary

Moonshot AI, a Chinese AI lab accused by the White House of accessing Nvidia’s Blackwell chips remotely in Thailand, is reportedly negotiating to lease Nvidia-powered compute capacity from European neocloud providers. Four sources familiar with the matter told CNBC that Moonshot discussed renting clusters of 8,000 or more Blackwell GPUs for inference and training, with talks beginning after the White House’s July statement about its Thailand-based access. U.S. export controls block Nvidia’s most advanced chips from being shipped to China, but remote access via overseas data centers remains a legal loophole—one Moonshot is aggressively pursuing, sources said, with potential upfront payments 30% to 50% higher than those for non-Chinese clients to hedge against future restrictions.

Moonshot, which builds the Kimi model series, has gained traction as a cheaper alternative to U.S. AI labs like OpenAI and Anthropic. Its July release of Kimi K3 reportedly narrowed the gap with leading Western models, though the company paused new subscriptions due to capacity constraints. Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers have proposed the Remote Access Security Act (RASA) to close the cloud-access loophole, though it stalled in the Senate. Nvidia has urged cloud providers to prioritize non-Chinese customers, citing geopolitical risks to AI infrastructure dominance.

## Key points

- Moonshot AI is negotiating to lease Nvidia Blackwell GPU clusters in Europe for inference and training, per four sources
- Talks involve clusters of 8,000+ GPUs, with upfront payments 30–50% higher than non-Chinese clients’ rates
- U.S. export controls block Nvidia’s Blackwell chips from China but allow remote access via overseas data centers

## Why it matters

Moonshot’s push for European Nvidia access highlights China’s efforts to bypass U.S. tech restrictions, intensifying competition with American AI labs and raising questions about future cloud-based export controls.

## Sources

1. [Chinese AI lab Moonshot turned to Europe for Nvidia Blackwell access amid U.S. China curbs, sources tell CNBC](https://cnbc.com/2026/11/05/moonshot-ai-nvidia-chips-europe-china.html) (CNBC Technology, 2026-11-05)

## Cite

Digest AI, "Moonshot AI seeks Nvidia Blackwell access via European neoclouds amid US export curbs", 5 November 2026, https://digestai.news/story/moonshot-ai-seeks-nvidia-blackwell-access-via-european-neoclouds-amid

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