NVIDIA Reportedly Developing Blackwell AI Chip for China, More Powerful than H20

NVIDIA is reportedly developing an AI chip for China more powerful than the H20

NVIDIA is reportedly working on a new AI chip specifically for the Chinese market, a product said to be even more powerful than its existing H20 offering. This news, according to Reuters, suggests a significant move by the tech giant in navigating the complex global semiconductor landscape.

The new chip is expected to be based on NVIDIA’s cutting-edge Blackwell architecture, which is known for dramatically boosting performance, with chips capable of being seven to 30 times faster than the company’s previous AI platforms. Tentatively named B30A, this chip will feature a single-die design, integrating all its core components onto one piece of silicon. While it’s designed to deliver half the computing power of NVIDIA’s most advanced Blackwell Ultra GPUs (which use a dual-die configuration), it will still pack a punch. To ensure high-speed data processing, the B30A will also incorporate high-bandwidth memory and NVIDIA’s proprietary NVLink technology.

This development follows a period of notable tension regarding AI chip sales to China. The Chinese government reportedly discouraged local companies from utilizing the H20, especially for government and national security applications. There were even reports of Beijing ordering major tech firms like Alibaba, ByteDance, and Tencent to temporarily halt purchases from NVIDIA pending a national security review. This pushback from China occurred shortly after the US government had *lifted* its export restrictions on NVIDIA’s H20 chips, creating a unique situation where US restrictions eased but Chinese demand remained cautious.

Recall that the US had initially blocked NVIDIA from selling its H20 chips to China last April, citing concerns that the technology could be leveraged by the Chinese military for AI development. By July, NVIDIA announced that the US government had provided assurances for approving licenses to ship H20 chips to China. Further reports in August suggested that the US government agreed to grant export licenses to NVIDIA (and AMD) in exchange for a percentage of their profits.

NVIDIA is still in the process of finalizing the specifications for the B30A. However, the company is reportedly aiming to deliver samples to its Chinese clients for testing as early as September of this year. The path forward for the B30A, including its regulatory and export approvals, remains to be seen, especially given reports that former President Trump is already aware of NVIDIA’s plans for a Blackwell-based chip for China.