As the U.S. considers implementing stricter trade restrictions to prevent the transfer of advanced chip equipment to China, Nvidia, a leading American chipmaker, is reportedly developing a version of its new artificial intelligence chips that adheres to these regulations.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Nvidia is creating a Chinese variant of its Blackwell AI chips in collaboration with local distribution partner, Inspur. This new chip, tentatively named the “B20,” is expected to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2025. Nvidia has not publicly commented on these developments.
The company has already adjusted its portfolio to comply with U.S. export controls by offering three chips designed specifically for that purpose, including the H20. Nvidia has reportedly lowered the prices of the H20 to compensate for sluggish sales in the face of competition from China’s Huawei. However, sales of the H20 have recently started to increase, with projections indicating that Nvidia may sell over one million of these chips in China this year, generating approximately $12 billion in revenue despite U.S. trade restrictions.
Analysts from Jefferies warn that Nvidia’s H20 chips could face additional risks due to tighter trade regulations. They anticipate that during the annual review of U.S. semiconductor export controls in October, a ban on selling the H20 to China is very possible. Such a ban could be triggered through various measures, including a specific prohibition on the product, alterations to the permitted computing power, or limitations on memory capacity.
Furthermore, U.S. regulations may expand to include stricter controls on chips exported to other countries in the region, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or even to overseas Chinese firms, though the latter would be more complex to enforce, according to the analysts.