As the United States weighs stricter trade restrictions to prevent advanced chip technology from being exported to China, Nvidia, a leading chipmaker based in the U.S., is reportedly developing a version of its latest artificial intelligence chips to adhere to these regulations.
According to sources familiar with the situation, Nvidia is collaborating with a local partner, Inspur, to roll out a chip tentatively named the “B20” in the Chinese market. The B20 is expected to begin shipping by the second quarter of 2025, though Nvidia has not commented on the matter.
Nvidia has designed three chips specifically to meet U.S. export controls, including the H20, for which it recently reduced prices in response to sluggish sales in order to better compete with Huawei’s homegrown chips. However, there has been a resurgence in H20 sales, with expectations that Nvidia will sell over one million units in China this year alone, amounting to approximately $12 billion, despite existing U.S. trade restrictions. This anticipated sales figure is nearly double that of Huawei’s forecast for its Ascend 910B chip.
Nevertheless, analysts from Jeffries have indicated that Nvidia’s H20 chips might be vulnerable under potential new U.S. trade regulations. With the annual review of U.S. semiconductor export controls approaching in October, there is a strong possibility that sales of the H20 to China could be prohibited. This ban may be executed through a product-specific prohibition, restrictions on computing power limits, or limitations on memory capability.
Additionally, there is speculation the U.S. may broaden its export controls on chips destined for other countries in the region, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or potentially extend restrictions to overseas Chinese companies, though this would pose greater challenges in terms of enforcement.