As the United States contemplates stronger trade restrictions to prevent advanced chip technology from being supplied to China, the American semiconductor company Nvidia is reportedly in the process of developing a version of its latest artificial intelligence chips that aligns with those regulations.
Nvidia is said to be collaborating with a local distributor, Inspur, for the launch and sale of what is tentatively named the “B20” AI chip in China, as reported by Reuters, citing anonymous sources familiar with the situation. The B20 is anticipated to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2025, although Nvidia has chosen not to comment on these developments.
The company has already created three chip models aimed specifically at complying with U.S. export restrictions. Among these is the H20 chip, which Nvidia has reduced prices for in an effort to counteract disappointing sales in the face of competition from local rival Huawei. Despite initial setbacks, the sales of H20 chips have reportedly been on the rise, with projections indicating that Nvidia will sell over one million of these chips in China this year, accumulating approximately $12 billion in revenue, as stated by the Financial Times based on SemiAnalysis data. This figure is nearly double Huawei’s sales expectations for its Ascend 910B chip.
However, Nvidia’s H20 chips may face further risks due to potential new U.S. trade regulations. Analysts at Jeffries noted that during the upcoming annual review of semiconductor export controls in October, it is highly probable that the sale of the H20 chip to China could be prohibited. Such a ban might be implemented in various forms, including a product-specific ban, lowering the computing power threshold, or imposing restrictions on memory capacity.
Moreover, U.S. officials could broaden these export controls to include chips sold to neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or to extend restrictions to overseas Chinese companies, although the latter would be more challenging to enforce, according to analysts.