As the United States weighs stricter trade measures to prevent the transfer of advanced chip technology to China, Nvidia, a prominent U.S.-based chip manufacturer, is reportedly developing a version of its new artificial intelligence chips to adhere to these regulations.
According to reports from Reuters, Nvidia is collaborating with a local distribution partner, Inspur, to roll out a chip tentatively named the “B20” specifically for the Chinese market. The B20 is anticipated to begin shipments in the second quarter of 2025.
Nvidia has already created three types of chips designed to meet U.S. export controls, including the H20, which the company has lowered prices on due to lackluster sales, aiming to compete with domestic rival Huawei. Nevertheless, sales of the H20 are reportedly increasing, with projections indicating that Nvidia could sell over a million units in China this year, generating roughly $12 billion, despite existing U.S. trade barriers. This figure is nearly twice Huawei’s expectations for its Ascend 910B chip.
However, analysts at Jefferies caution that further U.S. trade regulations may jeopardize Nvidia’s H20 chips. In light of the upcoming annual review of semiconductor export controls in October, they suggest there is a significant possibility the H20 may be prohibited from being sold to China. Potential ban avenues include a specific product ban, reducing computing power limitations, or imposing restrictions on memory capacity.
Additionally, analysts indicate the U.S. might broaden its export controls to cover chips sent to neighboring countries, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or even extend these restrictions to overseas Chinese enterprises, although such measures would be more complex to implement.