[SMM Computing Power Midday Review] H20 Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Lower Bound Loosens, Inference Resources Expand via Direct Contracts

[Market Overview]

The SMM computing power leasing price index remained generally stable today. Among the 19 indices, only H20-96G in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region saw an adjustment, with the lower end of the range and the average price moving down while the upper end stayed flat. On the price collection side, two signals emerged pointing to shifts in buyer strategies: scattered H20 units were offered for lease at electricity prices including cabinet power, and a leading cloud producer expanded its inference resource pool while strengthening compliance and ownership verification.

[H20 in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei: Lower end down 2.56%, 38,000 yuan monthly rent including cabinet power confirmed]

The SMM-H20-96G-whole machine-Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei-monthly minimum rent fell from 39,000 yuan to 38,000 yuan, a decrease of 1,000 yuan or 2.56%; the minimum per-card-hour price dropped from 6.77 yuan to 6.6 yuan, a decline of 2.51%; the average monthly rent decreased from 43,000 yuan to 42,500 yuan, down 1.16%; the maximum monthly rent of 47,000 yuan and the maximum per-card-hour price of 8.16 yuan remained unchanged. The simultaneous downward movement of the lower end and the average price corroborates the leasing offer in North China of three H20 96G whole machines at 38,000 yuan per unit per month including cabinet power. This batch of scattered machines requires one month's rent as deposit and three months' payment, with a minimum lease term of one quarter. Beyond the price, lessees also need to pay attention to penalty clauses in the lease agreement and machine testing arrangements.

[Inference resource pool: Direct contracts with cloud producers, dual verification strengthened]

A leading cloud producer expanded its inference computing resource pool, requiring two documents for equipment: a customs declaration and proof of server ownership, and the lease agreement must be signed directly with the cargo owner. The customs declaration corresponds to import compliance, and the ownership proof corresponds to cargo ownership verification; together they address the previously reported risk of unclear cargo ownership in the market. Direct contracting bypasses intermediary links. Previously, H-series machines generally carried a markup of 1,000 yuan per unit per month for intermediaries. If major buyers broadly shift to direct contracting, the price spread for middlemen will be compressed.

[SMM View]

Today's index movement was limited, but both price collection signals point to substantive adjustments in demand-side strategies. First, scattered H20 units were leased at 38,000 yuan including cabinet power, pushing the lower end of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei range down, reflecting the weak bargaining power of small-batch resources on the leasing side and the rising non-price risk costs borne by lessees. Second, the leading cloud producer's triple requirements of customs declaration, ownership proof, and direct contracting to screen supply indicate that the expansion of the inference resource pool is shifting from quantity grabbing to quality control. SMM believes that amid the surge in inference demand, compliance and cargo ownership are becoming entry conditions alongside large-scale procurement, and channel structures may be re-stratified as a result.