A Nvidia is working on a version of its new chips artificial intelligence (AI) latest generation for the Chinese market that would be compatible with current US export controls EUA, according to four sources familiar with the matter.
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In March, the AI ââchip giant revealed its series of chips âBlackwellâ, which should be mass produced later this year. The new processors combine two squares of silicon the size of the company's previous offering. Within the series, the B200 is 30 times faster than its predecessor in some tasks, such as providing responses from chatbots.
Nvidia will work with Inspur, one of its main distribution partners in China, in the launch and distribution of the chip, which was tentatively called âB20,â two of the sources said. âB20â shipments are planned to begin in the second quarter of 2025, a separate source told Reuters.
Nvidia shares rose 1,4% to $119,67 in US pre-market trading following the publication of the Nvidia story. Reuters.
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Washington tightened its controls on the export of cutting-edge semiconductors to China in 2023, seeking to prevent advances in supercomputing that would helpariam the Chinese armed forces. Since then, Nvidia has developed three chips specifically aimed at the Chinese market.
The advent of stricter US export controls helped the Chinese tech giant Huawei and startups like Enflame, supported by Tencent, gaining ground in the domestic market for advanced AI processors.
A version of an Nvidia Blackwell series chip for the Chinese market reinforcesaria the North American company's efforts to face these challenges. China accounted for about 17% of Nvidia's revenue in the year to the end of January following US sanctions, down from 26% two years earlier.
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Nvidia's most advanced chip for the Chinese market, the H20, initially got off to a weak start when deliveries began this year, and the US company priced it below a rival chip from Huawei. But sales are now growing rapidly, two of the sources said.
Nvidia is on track to sell more than 1 million of its H20 chips in China this year, worth more than $12 billion, according to an estimate from research group SemiAnalysis. Expectations are high that the US will continue to maintain pressure on semiconductor-related export controls.
The US wants the Netherlands and the Japan further restrict chipmaking equipment to China, sources said. The Biden administration also has preliminary plans to establish safeguards around the most advanced AI models, the core software of artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT.
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Shares of chip companies globally fell last week after Bloomberg News reported that the Biden administration was considering a measure called the foreign direct product rule, which would allow the U.S. to block the sale of a product if it was made using American technology.
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