Chinese AI startup DeepSeek and tech giant Huawei are building a strategic partnership to create a homegrown AI ecosystem independent of NVIDIA, according to reports by Semafor and the South China Morning Post.

The collaboration pairs DeepSeek's popular open-source AI models with Huawei's domestically made AI chips, offering Chinese companies an alternative to American hardware.

The move is a response to US export controls that have restricted China's access to advanced NVIDIA chips used to train AI systems.

If successful, the alliance could accelerate China's push for technological self-reliance in artificial intelligence, one of the most contested arenas in the US-China rivalry.

Analysts say the partnership also signals how open-source AI models are reshaping the industry, letting hardware makers bundle software that once required American chips.

The partnership is being watched closely in Washington, where officials have tried to slow China's AI progress through chip curbs. Analysts say the success of a Chinese hardware-software stack would mark a major shift in the global AI race.