As the U.S. debates stricter trade measures to prevent advanced chip technologies from reaching China, Nvidia, a leading U.S.-based chip manufacturer, is reportedly developing a new version of its artificial intelligence chips to adhere to these regulations.
According to sources familiar with the situation, Nvidia is partnering with local distributor Inspur to launch the new chip, provisionally named the “B20,” specifically meant for the Chinese market. The B20 is anticipated to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2025. Nvidia has not publicly commented on these developments.
Currently, Nvidia has three chip models engineered to meet U.S. export control standards, including the H20, which the company has reduced prices for due to sluggish sales, as it competes against products from domestic rival Huawei. However, sales of the H20 have reportedly started to pick up, with expectations indicating that Nvidia will sell over one million of these chips in China this year, amounting to around $12 billion in value, despite ongoing U.S. trade limitations. This figure is nearly double the sales projections for Huawei’s Ascend 910B chip.
Nonetheless, analysts from Jeffries have indicated that Nvidia’s H20 chips may face increased risks under new U.S. trade regulations. They predict that during the scheduled annual review of U.S. semiconductor export controls in October, it is highly probable that the H20 will be prohibited from sale to China. Potential actions could include a product-specific ban, tightening computing power limits, or imposing restrictions on memory capacity.
The U.S. may also broaden its export control measures for chips sold to additional countries in the region, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or apply these controls to overseas Chinese firms, although enforcing such measures could prove challenging.