As the United States contemplates stricter trade measures to prevent advanced chip technologies from reaching China, Nvidia, a prominent U.S. chipmaker, is reportedly developing a compliant version of its latest artificial intelligence chips.
According to Reuters, Nvidia is creating a chip specifically for the Chinese market, known provisionally as the “B20.” The company plans to collaborate with local partner Inspur to facilitate the chip’s launch and distribution in China. The B20 is expected to commence shipping in the second quarter of 2025, although Nvidia has refrained from commenting on the report.
Currently, Nvidia has three chip models tailored to align with U.S. export regulations, including the H20. The company has reduced the prices of the H20 in response to weaker sales, intending to compete against homegrown rival Huawei. Reports indicate that H20 sales are now on the rise, with predictions of over one million units sold in China this year, potentially generating around $12 billion in revenue, despite existing trade restrictions. This figure is nearly double Huawei’s projected sales for its Ascend 910B chip, based on data from SemiAnalysis.
However, ongoing U.S. trade regulations pose a potential threat to the H20 chips, as noted by analysts from Jefferies. They anticipate that during the annual review of semiconductor export controls in October, it is highly probable that the H20 will face a ban on sales to China. This ban could occur through various means, including a product-specific ban, a reduction in computing power limits, or restrictions on memory capacity.
Furthermore, the U.S. might consider expanding export controls on chips destined for other countries in the region, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or possibly extending these controls to overseas Chinese firms, although the latter option may prove more complex to implement, according to analyst assessments.