Sources say NVIDIA is preparing a version of its new flagship AI chip for the Chinese market
Reuters·2024/07/22 15:29
Beginning with paragraph 8, I'll add H20 chip sales performance, competitive challenges, and a focus on Sino-US trade friction.
by Fanny Potkin
SINGAPORE, July 22 (Reuters) - Nvidia NVDA.O is working on developing a flagship AI chip for the Chinese market that complies with current US export regulations, three sources familiar with the matter said.
This AI chip giant announced in March the “Blackwell” chip series, which is scheduled to be mass-produced later this year. These processors are a combination of two pieces of square silicon the same size as the products the company has offered until now. Within this series, the B200 is 30 times faster than the previous model for some tasks, such as answering from chatbots.
by Fanny Potkin
SINGAPORE, July 22 (Reuters) - Nvidia NVDA.O is working on developing a flagship AI chip for the Chinese market that complies with current US export regulations, three sources familiar with the matter said.
This AI chip giant announced in March the “Blackwell” chip series, which is scheduled to be mass-produced later this year. These processors are a combination of two pieces of square silicon the same size as the products the company has offered until now. Within this series, the B200 is 30 times faster than the previous model for some tasks, such as answering from chatbots.
Two sources have stated that Nvidia plans to launch and sell chips that are hypothetically “B20” in cooperation with Inspur, which is one of China's main distributor partners.
Since Nvidia has yet to make a public announcement, the source was not identified.
An Nvidia spokeswoman declined to comment. Inspur has responded to requests for comment.
Washington tightened restrictions on exports of cutting-edge semiconductors to China in 2023 to prevent supercomputing breakthroughs that would support China's military.
Since then, Nvidia has developed three chips specifically for the Chinese market.
As US export restrictions have been strengthened, start-ups such as Chinese technology giant Huawei HWT.UL and Tencent-supported 0700.hk Enflame can now enter the domestic market for advanced AI processors.
A version of Nvidia's Blackwell series of chips for the Chinese market will boost US companies' efforts to address these challenges.
Since Nvidia has yet to make a public announcement, the source was not identified.
An Nvidia spokeswoman declined to comment. Inspur has responded to requests for comment.
Washington tightened restrictions on exports of cutting-edge semiconductors to China in 2023 to prevent supercomputing breakthroughs that would support China's military.
Since then, Nvidia has developed three chips specifically for the Chinese market.
As US export restrictions have been strengthened, start-ups such as Chinese technology giant Huawei HWT.UL and Tencent-supported 0700.hk Enflame can now enter the domestic market for advanced AI processors.
A version of Nvidia's Blackwell series of chips for the Chinese market will boost US companies' efforts to address these challenges.
In response to US sanctions, China accounted for about 17% of Nvidia's revenue in the year until the end of January, down from 26% two years ago.
According to a report by Reuters in May, delivery of the H20, which is Nvidia's most advanced chip for the Chinese market, began this year, and since American companies fell below Huawei's rival chips, they initially got off to a strong start.
However, according to two sources, sales are growing rapidly.
According to estimates by the research group SemiAnalysis, Nvidia plans to sell more than 1 million H20 chips in China this year, and their value will exceed 12 billion dollars.
Expectations are high that the United States will continue to put pressure on semiconductor-related export restrictions.
According to sources, the US wants the Netherlands and Japan to further restrict chip manufacturing equipment to China.
According to a report by Reuters in May, delivery of the H20, which is Nvidia's most advanced chip for the Chinese market, began this year, and since American companies fell below Huawei's rival chips, they initially got off to a strong start.
However, according to two sources, sales are growing rapidly.
According to estimates by the research group SemiAnalysis, Nvidia plans to sell more than 1 million H20 chips in China this year, and their value will exceed 12 billion dollars.
Expectations are high that the United States will continue to put pressure on semiconductor-related export restrictions.
According to sources, the US wants the Netherlands and Japan to further restrict chip manufacturing equipment to China.
The Biden administration is also making provisional plans to set up guardrails around cutting-edge AI models that are core software for artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT, the sources say.
Chip stocks fell globally last week after Bloomberg News reported that the Biden administration was considering measures called foreign direct product rules that would allow the US to stop selling products manufactured using US technology.
(Report by Fanny Potkin in Singapore, edited by Anne Marie Rowntree and Edwina Gibbs)
Chip stocks fell globally last week after Bloomberg News reported that the Biden administration was considering measures called foreign direct product rules that would allow the US to stop selling products manufactured using US technology.
(Report by Fanny Potkin in Singapore, edited by Anne Marie Rowntree and Edwina Gibbs)
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