DeepSeek plans massive Huawei chip order for Mongolia data center

DeepSeek is set to deploy at least 160,000 of Huawei Technologies at a hyperscale data center it is building in Inner Mongolia-a move aims to create one of the largest clusters of Huawei artificial intelligence chips and bolster China’s self-reliance initiatives to replace Nvidia Corp.

The AI pioneer seeks to use Huawei's next generation Ascend 950DT chips for its significant operations though the installation time will hinge on Huawei's production capacity.

According to the reports, DeepSeek wants to purchase more of Huawei’s chips but does not retain production capacity.

The company is managing competing client priorities while finalizing export requirements. Huawei is one of a market share defined by a small number of powerful firms central to Beijing’s goal of dominating AI despite US restrictions.

The Shenzhen-based telecom titan has surfaced as the Asian country’s de facto national chipmaking while DeepSeek has reset the standard for AI model releases since Moonshot.

Notably, DeepSeek is one of several Chinese companies that have configured their models for sovereign accelerators. It is crucial to note that DeepSeek’s AI infrastructure goals in Inner Mongolia are at a gigawatt scale at maximum potential consumption of roughly 750,000 homes.

The 160,000 950DT chips DeepSeek intends to install there would represent a mere portion of that capacity. At present, it remains unclear what type of chips the AI lab plans to use; moreover, Trump administration officials have asserted that the startup has acquired the Nvidia’s top Blackwell and installed them in Inner Mongolia, a claim reported by Bloomberg has not independently verified.