As the U.S. evaluates more stringent trade measures to stop advanced chip technology from reaching China, Nvidia, a prominent American chipmaker, is reportedly developing a version of its new artificial intelligence chips that adheres to these impending regulations.
According to Reuters, Nvidia is collaborating with local distributor Inspur to introduce and market a chip tentatively named the “B20” in China. The company is expected to begin shipping the B20 in the second quarter of 2025, as reported by an insider.
In the meantime, Nvidia has three chips designed to meet U.S. export regulations, including the H20, which the company reduced prices on in response to sluggish sales in the face of competition from the Chinese firm Huawei. Reports indicate that H20 sales are now picking up momentum, with Nvidia projected to sell over one million H20 chips in China this year, generating around $12 billion, despite existing U.S. trade barriers. This expected figure is nearly twice that of Huawei’s sales forecast for its Ascend 910B chip.
However, analysts from Jeffries warn that Nvidia’s H20 chips could face challenges under new U.S. trade guidelines. In the upcoming annual review of semiconductor export controls scheduled for October, it is likely that the H20 may be prohibited from being sold to China. Possible restrictions could include a specific product ban, a reduction in computing power limits, or capping memory capacity.
Additionally, the U.S. may expand export limitations to chips being sold to other countries in the region, including Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or even to overseas Chinese companies, although the latter could prove more difficult to enforce, according to analysts.