As the United States contemplates stricter trade restrictions to prevent advanced chip technology from reaching China, Nvidia, a U.S.-based chipmaker, is reportedly developing a modified version of its new artificial intelligence chips to adhere to these regulations.
Sources familiar with the matter stated that Nvidia is collaborating with local distributor Inspur to introduce and sell a chip in China, provisionally named the “B20.” This new chip is expected to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2025. Nvidia has opted not to comment on these developments.
The company has already designed three chips compliant with U.S. export controls, including the H20, which Nvidia recently reduced in price due to sluggish sales as it competes with domestic rival Huawei. Despite earlier challenges, H20 sales have reportedly started to increase, with projections suggesting that Nvidia will sell over one million of these chips in China this year, amounting to approximately $12 billion, despite existing U.S. trade barriers. This forecast nearly doubles Huawei’s expectations for its Ascend 910B chip, according to data from SemiAnalysis.
However, Nvidia’s H20 chips could face additional risks if further U.S. trade regulations are implemented, as warned by analysts at Jefferies. They predict that during the U.S. annual review of semiconductor export controls in October, it is very likely the H20 may be prohibited for sale to China. Such a ban could manifest in several ways, including a specific product ban, a reduction in the computing power cap, or limitations on memory capacity.
Additionally, there is a possibility that export controls could be extended to chips sold to neighboring countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or even to overseas Chinese companies, though implementing such measures may prove more challenging, according to analyst reports.