Nvidia is developing a version of its upcoming flagship AI chips for the Chinese market that will comply with current US export limits, according to four persons familiar with the topic.
The AI chip company introduced its “Blackwell” chip family in March, with scale production set to begin later this year. The new processors combine two squares of silicon, the same size as the company’s prior offering. Within the series, the B200 is 30 times faster than its predecessor at certain activities, such as serving up answers from chatbots.
According to two sources, Nvidia would collaborate with Inspur, one of its key distributor partners in China, on the launch and distribution of the chip, tentatively dubbed the “B20”. According to a secondary source, “B20” shipments will begin in the second quarter of 2025.
The sources declined to be identified since Nvidia has not made a public statement.
A spokeswoman for Nvidia declined to comment. Inspur has not responded to calls for comment.
Nvidia shares increased 1.4% to $119.67 in US premarket trade following the publication of the Reuters piece.
Washington increased curbs on cutting-edge semiconductor exports to China in 2023, hoping to avoid breakthroughs in supercomputing that would benefit China’s military.
Since then, Nvidia has designed three chips exclusively for the Chinese market.
The introduction of tougher export US limitations have allowed Chinese technology behemoth Huawei and startups like Tencent-backed Enflame to make some inroads into the local market for powerful AI chips.
A version of a processor from Nvidia’s Blackwell series for the Chinese market would help the US company combat these obstacles.
Following US sanctions, China contributed for approximately 17% of Nvidia’s revenue in the fiscal year ending in January, down from 26% two years ago.
Nvidia’s most advanced chip for the Chinese market, the H20, had a slow start when deliveries began this year, and the US company priced it lower than a competing chip from Huawei, Reuters reported in May.
Read: Google and Microsoft promote Nvidia AI chip access for Chinese enterprises.
However, sales are currently increasing significantly, according to two sources.
According to SemiAnalysis, Nvidia expects to sell over 1 million H20 chips in China this year, worth up to $12 billion.
Expectations are high that the United States will continue to put pressure on semiconductor export regulations.
According to insiders, the United States wants the Netherlands and Japan to severely restrict chipmaking equipment exports to China.
According to sources, the Biden administration is also considering putting guardrails around the most advanced AI Models, which are the core software of artificial intelligence systems such as ChatGPT.
Chip stocks fell globally last week after Bloomberg News reported that Biden’s administration was considering a move known as the foreign direct product rule, which would allow the US to prevent a product from being sold if it was manufactured using American technology.
