Chinese tech companies are purchasing hobbled Nvidia graphics cards to train their artificial intelligence (AI) models. These companies are still in the pre-training stage of developing large language models, which requires significant performance from individual GPU chips and high data transfer capability. The H800 chips, which are being used by Chinese firms, are reportedly five times faster than Nvidia's most powerful GPUs, the A100 chips. This move by Chinese companies highlights the demand for powerful hardware to support AI development and the potential for China to become a leader in AI technology.