As the U.S. mulls over stricter trade restrictions aimed at preventing advanced chip equipment from reaching China, the American semiconductor company Nvidia is reportedly developing a new version of its artificial intelligence chips to adhere to these regulations.
Nvidia is working on the Blackwell AI chip tailored for the Chinese market, as reported by Reuters, which cited sources familiar with the situation. The company plans to collaborate with a local distributor, Inspur, to introduce and market the chip, provisionally named the “B20,” in China.
The B20 is projected to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2025, according to sources. Nvidia has opted not to comment on this matter.
Nvidia has created three chips specifically designed to meet U.S. export control requirements, including the H20, which it has reduced prices for due to insufficient sales competition against local rival Huawei. However, reports indicate that H20 sales are now on the rise. It is anticipated that Nvidia will sell over one million H20 chips in China this year, totaling around $12 billion, despite the existing U.S. trade limitations. This projection is nearly twice Huawei’s sales expectations for its Ascend 910B chip.
On another note, analysts at Jefferies have pointed out that Nvidia’s H20 chips may face risks under new U.S. trade regulations. They stated that during the annual review of semiconductor export controls in October, it is likely that the H20 will face a sales ban to China. Such a ban could emerge through various means, such as a specific product ban, reductions in computing power limits, or restrictions on memory capacity.
Furthermore, there is the potential for the U.S. to broaden its export controls to include chips sold to neighboring countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or even impose restrictions on overseas Chinese firms, although the latter would be more challenging to enforce, according to analysts.