As the United States considers implementing stricter trade restrictions to halt the flow of advanced chip technology to China, the American chip manufacturer Nvidia is reportedly developing a version of its new artificial intelligence chips to adhere to these regulations.
According to sources familiar with the situation, Nvidia is creating a variant of its Blackwell AI chips for the Chinese market, with plans to collaborate with local distributor Inspur. This chip, tentatively named the “B20,” is anticipated to start shipping in the second quarter of 2025.
Nvidia has designed three chips specifically to meet U.S. export controls, including the H20, which it has reduced prices on to enhance its competitiveness against domestic rival Huawei. Recent reports indicate that sales of the H20 have begun to increase, with projections suggesting that Nvidia will sell over one million H20 chips in China this year, amounting to around $12 billion, despite the ongoing U.S. trade restrictions.
However, analysts from Jefferies warn that Nvidia’s H20 chips may be subject to new U.S. trade regulations. As part of its annual review of semiconductor export controls, the U.S. government may very likely ban the sale of H20 chips to China. This could occur through a product-specific ban, a reduction in computing power limits, or restrictions on memory capacity.
Additionally, analysts noted that the U.S. could expand its export controls to encompass chips sold to neighboring countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or apply these regulations to Chinese companies abroad, although such measures would present greater challenges for enforcement.