Nvidia Producing Three New Chips for China, Local Media Says

Nvidia plans to release three new chips for customers in China next week, a local media outlet reported on Thursday.

The news comes less than a month after the US government blocked the chip giant from selling two high-end artificial intelligence (AI) chips and one of its top gaming chips to companies in China.

The STAR Market Daily news outlet, citing people familiar with the matter, said the new chips are called the HGX H20, L20 PCIe and L2 PCIe and that Nvidia could announce them on November 16 at the earliest.

Nvidia declined to comment when asked about the report.

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Last month, the US AI chip giant said new export restrictions announced by Washington would block it from selling two of its modified advanced AI chips – the A800 and H800 – both of which were created for the Chinese market last year to comply with previous export rules.

One of the company’s top-of-the-line gaming chips, the L40S chip, which it announced in August, would also be affected, it said.

On October 24, Nvidia said those curbs would take immediate effect, as US regulators sped up an original deadline.

Nvidia has commanded more than 90% share of China’s $7 billion AI chip market, and analysts have said the US curbs are likely to create opportunities for domestic firms such as Huawei Technologies to make inroads.

Chinese internet giant Baidu placed a sizeable order for Huawei AI chips this year, sources have said.

One said AI firm Baidu had done so before the US curbs were announced as it was preparing for a future when it would no longer be able to purchase from Nvidia.

On Tuesday, news emerged that Huawei is supplying Baidu with artificial intelligence chips, as US tech curbs have forced Chinese firms to create new domestic supply lines.