Nvidia is developing China-compatible AI chips adhering to U.S. export controls, according to three informed sources.
The AI chip company introduced its “Blackwell” chip family in March, with scale production set to begin later this year.
The new processors, twice the size, are 30 times faster at tasks like chatbot responses; the B200 exemplifies this speed boost.
Nvidia and major Chinese distributor Inspur will collaborate on launching and distributing the tentative “B20” chip, sources said.
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.
In 2023, Washington tightened semiconductor export controls to China, aiming to prevent military advancements through supercomputing breakthroughs.
Since then, Nvidia has developed three chips tailored specifically for the Chinese market.
Tighter U.S. export controls have boosted Chinese tech giants Huawei and Enflame in the domestic advanced AI processor market.
A version of a chip from Nvidia’s Blackwell series for the Chinese market would help the US company combat such obstacles.
Due to U.S. sanctions, China’s share of Nvidia’s revenue dropped to 17% from 26% over two years.
However, sales are currently increasing significantly, according to two sources.
Nvidia may sell 1 million H20 chips in China this year, valued at $12 billion, per SemiAnalysis estimates.
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.
The Biden administration plans preliminary guardrails for advanced AI models like ChatGPT’s core software, sources say.
Chip stocks plummeted globally after reports that the Biden administration might use a rule to block products made with U.S. technology.
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