As the United States considers implementing stricter trade regulations to prevent advanced chip technology from being sold to China, Nvidia, a U.S.-based chip manufacturer, is reportedly developing a modified version of its new artificial intelligence chips to adhere to these potential laws.
Nvidia is said to be collaborating with a local partner, Inspur, to introduce and market a chip known tentatively as the “B20” in China, according to unnamed sources cited by Reuters. The launch is anticipated to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2025.
The company has designed several chips that comply with existing U.S. export controls, including the H20 chip. To stay competitive against domestic competitor Huawei, Nvidia has reduced the prices for the H20 amid sluggish sales. Despite initial challenges, sales of the H20 have reportedly started to improve, with expectations to exceed one million units in China this year, equating to approximately $12 billion in revenue, as per the Financial Times, referencing data from SemiAnalysis. This anticipated sales figure is nearly double what Huawei expects to achieve with its Ascend 910B chip.
However, analysts at Jefferies have raised concerns that Nvidia’s H20 chips may face restrictions under new U.S. trade regulations. They suggest that during the upcoming review of semiconductor export controls in October, it is likely that the H20 chip may be prohibited for sale to China. Potential methods for enforcing the ban could include a specific prohibition on the product, reductions in computing power limits, or limitations on memory capacity.
There is also the possibility that the U.S. may broaden export controls to include chips sold to other countries in the region, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or even extend these controls to foreign Chinese firms, though the latter would present more implementation challenges, according to analysts.