As the United States contemplates stricter trade regulations to stop advanced chip technologies from reaching China, Nvidia, a leading U.S. chip manufacturer, is reportedly developing a modified version of its latest artificial intelligence chips to align with those regulations.
According to reports from unnamed sources, Nvidia is currently working on a Chinese-specific version of its new Blackwell AI chips. This new chip, tentatively named the “B20,” is expected to be launched and sold in collaboration with a local distribution partner, Inspur. Shipments of the B20 are projected to begin in the second quarter of 2025.
Nvidia has created three chip models that comply with U.S. export restrictions, including the H20, which the company has reduced prices on to boost sales against domestic rival Huawei. Sources indicate that sales of the H20 are now increasing, with Nvidia anticipating the sale of over one million units in China this year, valued at around $12 billion, despite existing U.S. trade limitations. This figure is nearly twice Huawei’s projected sales for its Ascend 910B chip, according to SemiAnalysis data.
However, analysts from Jeffries have expressed concern that the H20 may soon be affected by stricter U.S. regulations on semiconductor exports. They noted that during the annual review of semiconductor export controls in October, it is highly likely that the H20 could be prohibited from being sold to China. Analysts outlined that a ban could be enacted in several ways: through a specific product ban, by lowering the computing power threshold, or by imposing limits on memory capacity.
Furthermore, the U.S. could potentially extend these export controls to chips sold in other countries in the region, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or to overseas Chinese companies, although the latter would present more implementation challenges.