Exclusive-Nvidia preparing version of new flagship AI chip for Chinese market, sources say
Nvidia is working on a version of its new flagship AI chips for the China market that would be compatible with current U.S. export controls, four sources familiar with the matter said.
The AI chip giant in March unveiled its "Blackwell" chip series, which is due to be mass-produced later in the 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 speedier than its predecessor at some tasks like serving up answers from chatbots.
Nvidia will work with Inspur, one of its major distributor partners in China, on the launch and distribution of the chip which is tentatively named the "B20", two of the sources said. Shipments of the "B20" are planned to start in the second quarter of 2025, a separate source told Reuters.
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The sources declined to be identified as Nvidia has yet to make a public announcement.
A spokesperson for Nvidia declined to comment. Inspur did not respond to requests for comment.
Shares of Nvidia rose 1.4% to $119.67 in U.S. premarket trading after publication of the Reuters story.
Washington tightened its controls on exports of cutting-edge semiconductors to China in 2023, seeking to prevent breakthroughs in supercomputing that would aid China's military.
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Since then, Nvidia has developed three chips tailored specifically for the Chinese market.
The advent of tighter export U.S. controls has helped Chinese technology giant Huawei and startups like Tencent-backed Enflame make some inroads into the domestic market for advanced AI processors.
A version of a chip from Nvidia's Blackwell series for the Chinese market would boost the U.S. firm's efforts to fend off those challenges.
China accounted for around 17% of Nvidia's revenue in the year to end-January in the wake of U.S. sanctions,
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