As the United States considers implementing stricter trade restrictions to prevent advanced chip technology from reaching China, Nvidia, a prominent U.S.-based chip manufacturer, is reportedly developing a version of its new artificial intelligence chips that complies with these potential regulations.
According to reports from Reuters, Nvidia is creating a variant of its Blackwell AI chips specifically for the Chinese market. This effort will involve collaboration with a local partner, Inspur, to introduce and distribute the chip, which is tentatively named the “B20,” in China.
Sources indicate that the B20 is anticipated to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2025, though Nvidia has chosen not to provide any comments regarding this information.
Nvidia is already producing three chips designed to adhere to U.S. export controls, including the H20. The company reduced prices for the H20 in light of sluggish sales, aiming to compete with chips developed by the Chinese company Huawei. Reports suggest that sales of the H20 have started to increase, with expectations that Nvidia will sell over one million H20 chips in China this year, which could translate to around $12 billion in revenue, despite existing U.S. trade restrictions. This projected figure is nearly double Huawei’s anticipated sales for its Ascend 910B chip, according to data from SemiAnalysis.
However, analysts from Jefferies have warned that Nvidia’s H20 chips could be further impacted by additional U.S. trade regulations. In an October review of semiconductor export controls, they noted that it is very likely the H20 could face sales bans in China. Such a ban could be applied in several ways, including specifically targeting the product, reducing the computing power threshold, or imposing restrictions on memory capacity.
Moreover, there is speculation that the U.S. could widen export control measures to encompass chips sold to neighboring countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or extend these restrictions to Chinese companies located overseas, although implementing such measures could prove more challenging.