- Huawei’s Ascend 910C AI chip, set for mass shipments next month, matches Nvidia’s H100 performance by integrating two 910B processors, filling a gap left by U.S. export restrictions on Nvidia’s H20 chip, as reported by Reuters.
- U.S. curbs, including a 2022 ban on Nvidia’s H100 and new H20 licensing requirements, have boosted Huawei’s 910C as the preferred choice for Chinese AI developers, despite SMIC’s low-yield 7nm production challenges.
- The U.S. Commerce Department is probing TSMC’s production of nearly three million chips for Sophgo, some used in Huawei’s 910B, though both TSMC and Huawei deny any supply relationship since mid-September 2020.
Huawei Technologies is poised to reshape China’s artificial intelligence landscape with its Ascend 910C chip, which is set for mass shipments to Chinese customers as early as next month, with some deliveries already underway, according to a Reuters report. The 910C, a graphics processing unit, leverages advanced integration to combine two 910B processors, achieving performance comparable to Nvidia’s H100 chip, banned in China since 2022, with double the computing power, memory capacity, and enhanced support for diverse AI workloads. This development comes at a critical juncture, as U.S. export controls, tightened this month by the Trump administration, now require Nvidia (NVDA) to obtain licenses for its H20 chip, previously the primary AI chip available in China, creating an opportunity for Huawei and domestic GPU startups like Moore Threads and Iluvatar CoreX to capture a market long dominated by Nvidia.
The U.S. Commerce Department’s restrictions, aimed at curbing China’s technological and military advancements, have blocked access to Nvidia’s advanced products, including its flagship B200 chip, prompting Chinese AI firms to seek local alternatives. Paul Triolo of Albright Stonebridge Group told Reuters that Huawei’s 910C is likely to become the preferred hardware for Chinese AI model developers and inference deployment, a shift accelerated by Huawei’s distribution of 910C samples to tech firms late last year. However, the report notes that the chip’s production faces challenges, with China’s SMIC manufacturing key components using its N+2 7nm process, which suffers from low yield rates. Additionally, the U.S. Commerce Department is investigating TSMC, which produced nearly three million chips for China-based Sophgo, some of which were found in Huawei’s 910B processors, though TSMC asserts compliance and has not supplied Huawei since mid-September 2020, and Huawei denies using TSMC-made Sophgo chips.
The 910C’s emergence reflects China’s strategic push for semiconductor self-reliance amid escalating U.S.-China trade tensions, which have intensified under Trump’s tariff and export policies. While the 910C represents an architectural evolution rather than a groundbreaking innovation, its competitive performance positions Huawei to meet the growing demand for AI infrastructure in China, where companies like Tencent and ByteDance have shown interest, with orders potentially exceeding 70,000 chips worth $2 billion. The U.S. restrictions, including a $5.5 billion charge Nvidia faces for H20 inventory and commitments, underscore the broader geopolitical stakes, as China’s domestic chip industry gains traction, potentially altering the global AI hardware landscape despite manufacturing hurdles and regulatory scrutiny.
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