As the United States contemplates stricter trade regulations to prevent advanced chip technology from reaching China, Nvidia, a U.S.-based semiconductor company, is reportedly developing a version of its latest artificial intelligence chips to meet these guidelines.
According to sources cited by Reuters, Nvidia is collaborating with a local distribution partner, Inspur, to launch and market the chip, provisionally named the “B20,” in China. The B20 is anticipated to commence shipments in the second quarter of 2025, though Nvidia has not commented on this information.
Nvidia has three chips designed to align with U.S. export regulations, including the H20, which the company reduced prices for due to sluggish sales to remain competitive against Huawei’s local offerings. Nevertheless, sales of the H20 are reportedly on the rise, with expectations to exceed one million units sold in China this year, equating to approximately $12 billion in revenue, according to the Financial Times, citing SemiAnalysis data. This figure is almost twice the projected sales for Huawei’s Ascend 910B chip.
However, analysts at Jeffries caution that Nvidia’s H20 chips might face challenges under potential new U.S. trade policies. They suggest that during the annual review of semiconductor export controls in October, it’s highly probable that the sale of H20 chips to China will be restricted. This could occur via a product-specific ban, adjustments to the computing power cap, or limitations on memory capacity. Furthermore, the U.S. government might broaden export restrictions to include chips sold to other countries in the region, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or apply the controls to overseas Chinese companies, although this latter option could prove more complex to implement.