As the United States contemplates stricter trade limitations to prevent advanced chip technology from reaching China, Nvidia, a leading U.S. chip manufacturer, is reportedly developing a modified version of its new artificial intelligence chips to adhere to these regulations.
According to Reuters, Nvidia is creating a variant of its Blackwell AI chips tailored for the Chinese market, collaborating with a local distribution partner, Inspur, to introduce and market the chip, tentatively named the “B20.” The expected launch for the B20 is slated for the second quarter of 2025, although Nvidia has chosen not to comment on these developments.
The company has already designed three chips that comply with U.S. export controls, including the H20, which it has lowered prices for in response to weak sales in order to compete with domestic rival Huawei. Reports indicate that H20 sales are beginning to pick up, with Nvidia projected to sell over one million units of the H20 chip in China this year, amounting to approximately $12 billion. This figure is nearly double Huawei’s anticipated sales for its Ascend 910B chip.
However, analysts from Jefferies caution that Nvidia’s H20 chips may face challenges under potential new U.S. trade regulations. During the upcoming annual review of U.S. semiconductor export controls in October, they suggest it is “highly likely” that the sale of H20 to China will be prohibited. This ban could materialize through various means, including a product-specific ban, reducing the cap on computing power, or imposing limits on memory capacity.
Furthermore, there is the possibility that the U.S. may broaden its export restrictions on chips sold to other countries in the region, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or may even extend these controls to overseas Chinese firms, although such measures might be more complex to implement, as noted by analysts.