As the United States considers implementing stricter trade restrictions aimed at preventing advanced chip technology from reaching China, Nvidia, a U.S.-based chip manufacturer, is reportedly developing a new version of its artificial intelligence chips to comply with these regulations.
According to reports, Nvidia is collaborating with a local distribution partner, Inspur, to introduce the chip, tentatively named “B20,” into the Chinese market. The B20 is anticipated to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2025. Nvidia has not provided any comment on this matter.
Nvidia currently has three chips designed specifically to meet U.S. export control standards, including the H20 chip. Recently, Nvidia reduced the prices of the H20 in response to declining sales in an attempt to compete with products from local rival Huawei. However, H20 sales are reportedly increasing, with projections indicating that Nvidia will sell more than one million H20 chips in China this year, potentially generating around $12 billion in revenue despite existing trade restrictions. This figure is nearly double Huawei’s expected sales of its Ascend 910B chip.
There are growing concerns that Nvidia’s H20 chips could face future risks under additional U.S. trade regulations. Analysts from Jefferies have indicated that during the annual review of U.S. semiconductor export controls scheduled for October, it is very likely that the H20 chip will be prohibited for sale to China. This potential ban could manifest in several ways, including a specific product ban, changing the computing power cap, or limiting memory capacity.
Moreover, the U.S. government may extend export controls on chip sales to other countries in the region, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or expand restrictions to overseas Chinese companies, although such measures would be more complex to enforce.