As the United States considers implementing stricter trade restrictions to prevent advanced chip technology from reaching China, U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturer Nvidia is reportedly developing a new version of its artificial intelligence chips to align with these regulations.
Nvidia is working on a variant of its Blackwell AI chips for the Chinese market, as reported by Reuters, citing unnamed sources familiar with the developments. The company intends to collaborate with a local distribution partner, Inspur, to introduce and sell the chip, tentatively named the “B20,” in China.
Sources indicate that the B20 is set to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2025. Nvidia has not provided any comments regarding the new chip.
Nvidia has already designed three chips that comply with U.S. export controls, including the H20 model, which had its prices reduced due to sluggish sales in competition with chips from local rival Huawei. However, recent reports suggest that sales of the H20 chip are on the rise. Nvidia is projected to sell over one million H20 chips in China this year, amounting to approximately $12 billion in revenue, despite the existing U.S. trade restrictions. This figure nearly doubles Huawei’s sales projections for its Ascend 910B chip, according to data from SemiAnalysis.
However, analysts from Jefferies have warned that Nvidia’s H20 chips may face challenges under potential new U.S. trade regulations. During the upcoming annual review of U.S. semiconductor export controls scheduled for October, it is “highly likely” that the H20 will be prohibited from being sold to China, according to the analysts. Potential methods for imposing this ban could include a “product specific ban,” lowering the computing power limit, or restricting memory capacity.
Furthermore, there is a possibility that the U.S. could extend these export controls to chips sold to other countries in the region, including Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or even apply similar controls to overseas Chinese companies, although such measures would be more complicated to enforce, analysts indicate.