Moonshot AI, the Chinese startup behind the Kimi models, agreed in August to rent 32 Super Micro servers equipped with Nvidia B300 GPUs in China, according to financing documents filed in a People's Bank of China credit-agency database. The deal was valued at 432 million yuan, or about $64.8 million. The US does not allow B300 chips to be sold to China without a licence.
That works out to roughly 13.5 million yuan, or about $2 million, per server, an estimated 350% above the going rate for comparable hardware in the US. The documents place the servers in Qingyang, a city in western China that serves as one of the country's national computing hubs, and name Moonshot's main operating company as the customer.
The servers' owner is Lingmeixin (Beijing) Technology, a Beijing company whose website describes it as a distributor of DJI drones. Lingmeixin used the servers and its rental contract with Moonshot as security for a 200 million yuan ($30 million) loan from Beijing Zhongguancun Bank. The two financing agreements are dated August 4, and the bank submitted them on August 6.
Key facts
- 01Financing filings show Moonshot AI agreed in August to rent 32 Super Micro servers with Nvidia B300 GPUs in China.
- 02The deal was valued at 432 million yuan, about $64.8 million, or roughly $2 million per server.
- 03Server owner Lingmeixin took a 200 million yuan loan from Beijing Zhongguancun Bank backed by the Moonshot contract.
- 04Moonshot says it has no business relationship with Lingmeixin; Nvidia and Super Micro say the firms are not their customers.
Lingmeixin bought the hardware from a company that mainly sells alcoholic drinks, including the Chinese spirit Maotai, and has recently moved into AI. The documents do not show how that seller obtained the servers, and it could not be confirmed whether anyone in the chain held a US export licence.
Moonshot disputes the documents. The company said it has no business relationship with Lingmeixin and neither took part in, authorized nor knew about the financing. After reporters sought comment, the database entries no longer referenced Moonshot.
Nvidia said the firms involved are not its customers and do not receive its support. Super Micro said it does not do business with them and follows all US export and re-export control laws.
The filings arrive as Washington steps up scrutiny of Moonshot. The White House has accused the company of using banned Nvidia chips to train Kimi K3, a model seen as one of China's strongest. Research firm SemiAnalysis estimates that hundreds of thousands of restricted chips have made it into China despite the controls.
Moonshot is planning a Hong Kong listing early next year. The company maintains that the rental records naming it are inaccurate.
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