As the United States considers implementing stricter trade restrictions to prevent advanced chip technology from being shipped to China, Nvidia, a U.S.-based chip manufacturer, is reportedly developing a new version of its artificial intelligence chips to comply with these regulations.
According to reports from unnamed sources, Nvidia is creating a variant of its Blackwell AI chips specifically for the Chinese market. The company plans to collaborate with local distribution partner Inspur to introduce and distribute this chip, tentatively named the “B20,” in China.
Sources indicate that the B20 is expected to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2025, although Nvidia has not provided any comments on the matter.
Nvidia has already designed three chips to adhere to U.S. export controls, including the H20, which the company reduced prices on due to weak sales in an effort to compete with domestic rival Huawei. Recent reports suggest that sales of the H20 are on the rise, with Nvidia anticipated to sell over one million units in China this year, generating around $12 billion in revenue despite the ongoing trade restrictions. This estimated figure is nearly double Huawei’s expectations for its own Ascend 910B chip.
However, analysts from Jefferies have raised concerns that Nvidia’s H20 chips could come under further scrutiny under new U.S. trade regulations. They anticipate that the upcoming annual review of semiconductor export controls in October may lead to a ban on H20 sales to China. Such a ban could be enforced through specific product restrictions, lowering computing power thresholds, or limiting memory capacity.
Additionally, there is speculation that the U.S. may broaden its export control measures to include chips sold to other countries in the region, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or even extend restrictions to overseas Chinese firms, although this would be more challenging to execute, analysts noted.