Nvidia is developing a version of its latest B200 flagship AI chip that complies with current US export restrictions for the Chinese market. The modified chip, essentially a less advanced variant of the B200, will be sold through Nvidia’s Chinese distribution partner, Inspur.
Nvidia and Inspur declined to comment, but sources confirmed the news to Reuters. The China chip’s designation will be B20.
Nvidia has previously developed alternative chips for the Chinese market in response to the American government’s restrictions on advanced semiconductors destined for China. Such restrictions should prevent the country from making large strides too quickly in computing power, especially for military applications.
AI chips for the internal market
The restrictions are forcing Chinese companies to design such chips themselves. Huawei and Tencent-funded Enflame, among others, are now designing their own AI chips for the internal Chinese market. Nvidia’s powered-down Blackwell chip should compete with these domestic competitors in China.
Partly due to the expert restrictions, Nvidia’s revenue from the country has now fallen to 17 percent of the company’s total revenue, down from 26 percent two years ago.
The Nvidia chip, currently considered the most advanced in China, the H20 (a watered-down variant of the H200), is now generating quite a bit of revenue after a slow start. This year, the company expects to supply 1 million H20 chips to companies in the country. According to SemiAnalysis research, that should earn Nvidia some 12 billion dollars (about 11 billion euros).
Blacklist
The US government wants the Netherlands and Japan to do more to prevent chip technology manufactured in the West from falling into Chinese hands. America has added 11 companies to a list that companies like ASML cannot supply.
US President Joe Biden’s administration has long pressured allies not to supply advanced chip technology to Chinese companies. For example, export restrictions are already in place on ASML’s most advanced equipment. This denies China access to extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) technology, which enables the production of the most complex microchips. The current ‘blacklist’ of five companies has now been expanded by 11.
Also read: ASML sells huge amount of chip machines to China while it still can