As the United States considers implementing stricter trade measures to prevent advanced chip technology from reaching China, Nvidia, a leading U.S. chip manufacturer, is reportedly developing a modified version of its new artificial intelligence chips to adhere to these regulations.
According to reports, Nvidia plans to collaborate with a local distribution partner, Inspur, to introduce and market a new chip, provisionally named the “B20,” in China. This chip is anticipated to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2025.
Nvidia has already designed three chips that comply with U.S. export regulations, including the H20 chip. The company has reportedly reduced the prices for the H20 due to underwhelming sales, in an effort to remain competitive against domestic rival Huawei. However, sources indicate that sales of the H20 have started to pick up, with Nvidia expected to sell over one million units in China this year, generating approximately $12 billion in revenue, despite ongoing U.S. trade restrictions. This sale projection nearly doubles Huawei’s expectations for its Ascend 910B chip, according to industry data.
Jefferies analysts warned that Nvidia’s H20 chips could face additional risks under new U.S. trade regulations. In the upcoming review of U.S. semiconductor export controls scheduled for October, the analysts suggest a high likelihood that the H20 could be prohibited from being sold to China. They indicated that such a ban could be enacted through various approaches, including product-specific bans, reductions in computing power limits, or restrictions on memory capacity.
Furthermore, there is potential for the U.S. to broaden its export controls to chips sold to other countries in the region, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or to extend these measures to overseas Chinese companies, although the latter would be more challenging to implement.