As the United States evaluates stricter trade restrictions to limit the flow of advanced chip technology to China, Nvidia, an American chip manufacturer, is reportedly developing a variant of its latest artificial intelligence chips that aligns with these regulations.
According to sources familiar with the situation, Nvidia is collaborating with a local distributor, Inspur, to introduce and sell the chip, temporarily named the “B20,” in China. This new version of the Blackwell AI chips is anticipated to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2025.
Nvidia has three chips that comply with existing U.S. export laws, including the H20, which the company has reduced prices on to enhance competitiveness against domestic rival Huawei. Sales of the H20 chip are reportedly rising, and estimates suggest that Nvidia could sell over one million units in China this year, generating approximately $12 billion in revenue, despite ongoing trade restrictions. This figure is nearly double Huawei’s projected sales for its Ascend 910B chip.
However, analysts from Jefferies caution that Nvidia’s H20 chips may face challenges under upcoming U.S. trade regulations. During the annual assessment of semiconductor export controls expected in October, it is probable that the H20 could be banned from sale to China. Potential avenues for such a ban include implementing a product-specific prohibition, tightening limits on computational power, or restricting memory capacity.
Additionally, the U.S. could broaden export controls on chips shipped to other countries in the region, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or extend these controls to overseas Chinese firms, though the latter may be more complex to enforce.