As the United States contemplates stricter trade measures to restrict advanced chip technology from reaching China, U.S.-based chip manufacturer Nvidia is reportedly developing a version of its new artificial intelligence chips that aligns with these regulations.
Nvidia is reportedly tailoring its new Blackwell AI chips for the Chinese market in collaboration with a local distribution partner, Inspur. The chip, tentatively named the “B20,” is expected to be launched and sold in China, according to anonymous sources familiar with the situation.
The B20 is anticipated to start shipping in the second quarter of 2025, as reported by a source. Nvidia has not provided any official comments on the matter.
The company has designed three chips specifically to adhere to U.S. export controls, including the H20, for which it lowered prices due to lackluster sales in competition with homegrown rival Huawei. However, reports indicate that sales of the H20 are on the rise, with estimates suggesting that Nvidia will sell over one million H20 chips in China this year, potentially generating around $12 billion in revenue despite existing U.S. trade restrictions. This figure is reported to be nearly double the expected sales for Huawei’s Ascend 910B chip.
Concerns have emerged regarding the future of Nvidia’s H20 chips under potential new U.S. trade regulations, as noted by analysts from Jefferies. They suggested that during the U.S. annual review of semiconductor export controls in October, a ban on the H20 from being sold to China is “highly likely.” Such a ban could take various forms, including a specific product ban, a reduction in the computing power threshold, or limitations on memory capacity.
There are also considerations that the U.S. might expand export controls on chips sold to other countries in the region, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or apply these controls to overseas Chinese companies, although this would present greater challenges, according to analysts.