As the United States deliberates on imposing stricter trade regulations to stop advanced chip technology from reaching China, Nvidia, a leading U.S.-based semiconductor company, is reportedly developing a variant of its new artificial intelligence chips that adheres to these impending rules.
According to reports by Reuters citing anonymous sources, Nvidia is creating a version of its Blackwell AI chips specifically for the Chinese market. The company intends to collaborate with a local distribution partner, Inspur, to introduce and distribute the chip, which is tentatively named the “B20,” in China.
The B20 chip is anticipated to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2025, as per a source’s information to Reuters. Nvidia has not provided any comments regarding this development.
Nvidia has also designed three chips that are specifically compliant with U.S. export regulations, including the H20 chip, which it recently reduced prices for amid declining sales to be competitive against homegrown rival Huawei. However, reports indicate that H20 sales are experiencing growth, with Nvidia projected to sell over one million units of its H20 chips in China this year, amounting to approximately $12 billion, despite existing U.S. trade limitations. This figure is nearly double Huawei’s expected sales for its Ascend 910B chip, according to data from SemiAnalysis.
On the other hand, Nvidia’s H20 chips might face challenges if further U.S. trade regulations are implemented. Analysts from Jefferies have suggested that during the annual review of U.S. semiconductor export controls expected in October, there is a significant possibility that the H20 chip could be prohibited from being sold to China. This prohibition could occur through various methods, including a specific product ban, a reduction in computing power limits, or restrictions on memory capacity.
Analysts also indicated that the U.S. might expand its export control measures to include chips sold to other countries in the region, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or even extend controls to overseas Chinese corporations, although the latter would be more challenging to enforce.