As the United States contemplates stricter trade limitations to hinder the transfer of advanced chip technology to China, Nvidia, a U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturer, is reportedly developing a tailored version of its latest artificial intelligence chips to adhere to these regulations.
According to reports, Nvidia is creating a product known as the B20, which is a variant of its new Blackwell AI chips specifically for the Chinese market. The company plans to collaborate with a local distributor, Inspur, for the launch and sale of the B20 in China. Sources indicate that shipments of the B20 could commence in the second quarter of 2025, though Nvidia has not provided any official comments on the matter.
Nvidia has already designed three chips to align with U.S. export restrictions, including the H20 chip, for which the company recently reduced prices to boost sales against domestic competitor Huawei. Despite initial challenges, H20 sales have reportedly seen an upswing, with projections suggesting that Nvidia may sell over one million H20 chips in China this year, generating approximately $12 billion in revenue, despite the ongoing U.S. trade barriers. This anticipated figure is nearly double the sales forecast for Huawei’s Ascend 910B chip.
However, analysts from Jefferies caution that Nvidia’s H20 chips may face additional scrutiny under evolving U.S. trade regulations. As the U.S. is set to conduct its annual review of semiconductor export controls in October, there is a significant possibility that the H20 could be banned for sale in China. Such a ban could be implemented through various measures, including specific product prohibitions, reductions in computing power thresholds, or limits on memory capacity.
Additionally, analysts suggest that the U.S. may widen its export controls to include chips sold to other countries in the region, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or even extend these restrictions to overseas Chinese companies, although the latter would present more complex implementation challenges.