As the United States contemplates implementing stricter trade regulations to prevent advanced chip technology from reaching China, Nvidia, a prominent U.S. chip manufacturer, is reportedly developing a variant of its new artificial intelligence chips that aligns with these guidelines.
According to sources familiar with the situation, Nvidia is collaborating with a local partner, Inspur, to introduce and distribute a chip in China known tentatively as the “B20.” This new chip is expected to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2025.
Nvidia has already designed three chips specifically to comply with U.S. export controls, including the H20 model, for which the company reduced prices due to sluggish sales as it competes with domestically produced chips from Huawei. However, reports indicate that sales of the H20 are on the rise, with projections suggesting that Nvidia may sell over one million units of the H20 chip in China this year, collectively valued at around $12 billion, despite existing trade limitations. This anticipated sales figure nearly doubles Huawei’s expectations for its Ascend 910B chip.
Conversely, the future of Nvidia’s H20 chips might be threatened by potential new U.S. trade regulations. Analysts from Jefferies noted that during the annual review of U.S. semiconductor export controls scheduled for October, there is a strong possibility that the H20 could face a sales ban in China. This prohibition could manifest in several ways, including a targeted ban, modifications to caps on computing power, or restrictions on memory capacity.
Additionally, the U.S. may expand its export control measures to encompass chips sold to other countries in the region, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or could target overseas Chinese companies, although the latter would be more challenging to execute, according to analysts.