As the United States contemplates implementing stricter trade restrictions aimed at preventing advanced chip technology from being sent to China, Nvidia, a leading chipmaker headquartered in the U.S., is reportedly developing a new version of its artificial intelligence chips to align with these regulations.
Sources familiar with the matter have indicated that Nvidia is focusing on a version of its new Blackwell AI chips for the Chinese market, collaborating with a local distribution partner, Inspur, for the launch and sale of this chip, tentatively named the “B20.” The B20 is anticipated to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2025.
Nvidia has designed three chips that comply with U.S. export controls, including the H20, which was offered at reduced prices due to sluggish sales in an effort to compete with products from the Chinese company Huawei. Recent reports suggest that sales of the H20 are on the rise, with Nvidia projected to sell over one million of these chips in China this year, generating an estimated $12 billion in revenue, despite the existing trade restrictions. This figure is nearly double Huawei’s sales forecasts for its Ascend 910B chip.
However, analysts from Jeffries cautioned that Nvidia’s H20 chips could face challenges under potentially new U.S. trade regulations. With the U.S. expected to conduct its annual review of semiconductor export controls in October, there is a strong possibility that the H20 will be prohibited from being sold to China. Such a ban could be implemented in several ways, including a specific prohibition on the product, a reduction in the computing power threshold, or limitations on memory capacity.
Furthermore, the U.S. may extend export controls on chips sold to neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or broaden the restrictions to include overseas Chinese companies, although the latter option would present more significant implementation challenges, according to analysts.