As the United States contemplates stricter trade measures to hinder advanced chip technology from reaching China, the American semiconductor company Nvidia is reportedly developing a version of its new artificial intelligence chips that aligns with these regulations.
According to reports, Nvidia is creating a variant of its Blackwell AI chips specifically for the Chinese market. A source indicated that Nvidia plans to collaborate with a local distributor, Inspur, to introduce and market the chip, which is tentatively named the “B20,” in China.
The B20 is anticipated to commence shipping in the second quarter of 2025. Nvidia has not provided any comments regarding this development.
Nvidia has already designed three chips that are intended to comply with U.S. export controls. This includes the H20 chip, for which prices were reduced due to sluggish sales, aiming to compete against products from local rival Huawei. Recent reports suggest that sales of the H20 are increasing, with expectations for over one million units sold in China this year, generating approximately $12 billion in revenue, despite existing U.S. trade restrictions.
However, analysts from Jeffries have indicated that the H20 chips might face challenges under potential new U.S. trade regulations. The analysts noted that during the upcoming annual review of semiconductor export controls in October, there is a strong possibility that sales of the H20 chip to China could be banned. This prohibition might be enacted in several ways, such as through a specific product ban, adjustments to the computing power threshold, or limits on memory capacity.
Additionally, the U.S. could broaden export restrictions to chips sold to neighboring countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, or extend these controls to overseas Chinese firms, although the latter may pose more implementation challenges, analysts suggest.