As the U.S. considers implementing stricter trade restrictions to prevent advanced chip technology from reaching China, Nvidia, a leading chip manufacturer based in the U.S., is reportedly developing a version of its new artificial intelligence chips that aligns with these regulations.
According to reports, Nvidia is collaborating with a local distributor, Inspur, to introduce and market the chip, tentatively referred to as the “B20,” in China. The launch is expected to take place in the second quarter of 2025, although Nvidia has not provided an official comment on the matter.
Nvidia has already designed three chips specifically to meet U.S. export control requirements, including the H20 chip, which the company has reduced prices on due to sluggish sales against competition from the domestic firm Huawei. However, recent reports indicate that sales for the H20 are beginning to rise. It is projected that Nvidia will sell over a million H20 chips in China this year, totaling around $12 billion, despite existing U.S. trade restrictions. This expected sales figure is nearly double the anticipated sales of Huawei’s Ascend 910B chip.
On the other hand, analysts from Jeffries have expressed concerns that Nvidia’s H20 chips may face challenges under potential new U.S. trade regulations. As the U.S. approaches its annual review of semiconductor export controls in October, there is a strong likelihood that the H20 could be prohibited for sale to China. Analysts outlined three possible methods for the ban: a product-specific prohibition, a reduction in the computing power cap, and/or limitations on memory capacity.
Furthermore, the U.S. might also broaden its export controls to include chips sold to other neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or extend these regulations to overseas Chinese firms, although such implementations would be more complex.