Due to US restrictions

Nvidia plans China version of its AI chip

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang(Bild: AFP)

According to insiders, Nvidia is working on a special version of its current AI chip for the Chinese market due to US restrictions on technology exports to China. The processor developed with Chinese sales partner Inspur is set to be launched in the second quarter of 2025. 

Several people familiar with the matter told the Reuters news agency on Monday. Nvidia did not want to comment on this topic.

The global market leader for special AI processors presented its top model B200 "Blackwell" in the spring, with mass production set to start in the coming months. According to the information provided, the B200 is 30 times faster than its predecessor. With the slimmed-down version "B20", Nvidia wants to keep the Chinese competition at bay, which wants to steal market share from the US company. Huawei and Tencent in particular are vying for customers.

In recent years, Nvidia has developed three processors for artificial intelligence for the Chinese market, which initially complied with US export restrictions. However, as these have been tightened over time, some of these chips can no longer be delivered to the People's Republic.

Further restrictions expected
Experts assume that the US government will extend the restrictions. Due to the embargo, China's share of Nvidia's consolidated revenue fell to 17 percent in the last financial year, down from 26 percent two years previously.

The current top model for the local market is the "H20", of which the Group is expected to sell more than one million units in the current year, according to experts from the research firm SemiAnalysis. The sales volume with these processors amounts to over twelve billion dollars (eleven billion euros).