As the United States weighs stricter trade regulations to block advanced chip technology from reaching China, Nvidia, a prominent U.S.-based chipmaker, is reportedly developing a version of its latest artificial intelligence chips to align with these anticipated rules.
Nvidia is said to be collaborating with the local distributor Inspur to introduce and market a new chip, provisionally named the “B20,” in China, according to reports from Reuters citing unnamed sources. The B20 is projected to begin shipping around the second quarter of 2025. Nvidia has not provided a comment on this development.
The company currently has three chips designed specifically to adhere to U.S. export regulations, including the H20, which it has discounted in response to sluggish sales in order to compete with chips from its Chinese rival, Huawei. However, recent reports indicate that sales of the H20 are on the rise, with Nvidia anticipated to sell over one million of these chips in China this year, generating approximately $12 billion in revenue, despite existing U.S. trade limitations. This sales figure is nearly double the expectations for Huawei’s Ascend 910B chip, according to analysis from SemiAnalysis.
On the other hand, Nvidia’s H20 chips may face challenges under potential new U.S. trade measures, as noted by analysts from Jeffries. With the upcoming annual review of U.S. semiconductor export controls in October, it is “highly likely” that the H20 will be prohibited from being sold to China, the analysts stated. Such a ban could be instituted in various forms, including a specific product ban, a reduction of the computing power limit, or a restriction on memory capacity.
Furthermore, the U.S. may consider expanding export controls on chips sold to other countries in the region, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or even to overseas Chinese firms, although this would pose greater implementation challenges.