[News] NVIDIA Reportedly Developing Tailored Version of the Blackwell Series for Chinese Market

According to sources cited in a report from Reuters, NVIDIA is said to be planning to design a new flagship AI chip tailored for the Chinese market, which will still comply with current U.S. export control regulations.

NVIDIA, the global AI chip giant, unveiled its Blackwell chip series in March this year, with mass production expected to start later this year. The B200 chip in this series boasts powerful performance, capable of completing chatbot response tasks at speeds up to 30 times faster than the previous generation.

The sources cited by Reuters further point out that NVIDIA will collaborate with China’s Inspur to launch and sell this chip, tentatively codenamed B20. Inspur is one of NVIDIA’s primary distribution partners in China.

Currently, NVIDIA’s spokesperson has declined to comment on this news, and Inspur has also not issued any statements.

The U.S. government, citing national security concerns, began strictly tightening controls on the export of advanced semiconductors to China in 2023. Since then, NVIDIA has released three chips specifically for the Chinese market.

Per a previous report from TechNews citing industry sources, it is also believed that the US will significantly escalate the trade war after the presidential election, intensifying export restrictions on China.

It is noteworthy that the US government previously announced the imposition or increase of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, semiconductors, lithium batteries, and other products, with the semiconductor tariff rate set to rise from 25% to 50% by 2025.  Meanwhile, for the future direction of the US, it can be inferred that chips manufactured in Taiwan and South Korea may also face tariffs.

Read more

• [News] U.S. Reportedly Enhancing Chip Export Restrictions to China, while NVIDIA’s H20 Might Get Banned
• [News] China’s Third Big Fund Reportedly Set to Inject USD 27 Billion to Counter US Chip Restrictions

(Photo credit: NVIDIA)