NVIDIA is reportedly developing a new AI Chip for the China market, sources close to Reuters say. Supposedly, the new AI GPU will be based on the Blackwell architecture and is expected to be more powerful than the current H20 model that the company is allowed to ship to China.
The new chip, which currently goes by the codename B30A, is expected to use a single-die design, and should deliver half the raw computing power of the more powerful B300, which is NVIDIA’s current AI flagship accelerator. For context, a single-die design is when all the main parts of an integrated circuit are made on one continuous piece of silicon, instead of splitting them across multiple dies.
So far, the chip’s specifications have yet to be finalised, but NVIDIA is hoping to deliver samples to Chinese clients for testing as early as next month. “We evaluate a variety of products for our roadmap, so that we can be prepared to compete to the extent that governments allow,” the company said in a statement. “Everything we offer is with the full approval of the applicable authorities and designed solely for beneficial commercial use.”
NVIDIA’s decision to embark on the development of a new China-specific AI chip likely stems from the good news it recently received, after striking a deal with the Trump administration to give 15% of all its sales of AI chips to China, back to the US government. As you can imagine, this hasn’t gone down well with the with US politicians, both Democrats and Republicans.
It also doesn’t help that pro-Chinese voices within China have floated the idea that NVIDIA GPUs are no longer safe, saying that the brand’s products are possibly riddled with backdoors, kill switches, and spyware, an accusation that NVIDIA categorically denies.
(Source: Reuters)
