According to a Wall Street Journal report, China’s Huawei Technologies is preparing to challenge Nvidia by introducing a new chip for AI use, overcoming the US sanctions that were sought to curb its technological progress.
The sources cited that Chinese internet companies and telecommunications operators have been testing Huawei’s latest processor, Ascend 910C. Huawei told its customers that the new chip, Ascend 910C, is on par with Nvidia’s H100.
It said, “Companies including TikTok parent ByteDance, search-engine giant Baidu, and state-owned telecommunications carrier China Mobile are in early discussions about obtaining the 910C.”
In 2022, US regulators posed restrictions on Nvidia to stop selling AI chips, including the H100, to China due to national security concerns.
Thus, to fight off the American restrictions on accessing its technology, China has come up with its own AI chip.
However, the report by WSJ revealed that the company is currently facing production delays in its chips. It is also treading on the possibility of further US restrictions that might affect its ability to obtain machine components and memory chips for AI.
The initial negotiations between the company and customers imply that the orders might exceed 70,000 chips, with a total value of around $2 billion. Huawei is planning shipments as early as October.
China is taking measures to boost its domestic chip industry and has put 344 billion Chinese yuan ($47.5 billion) into a third chip fund to improve advancements in the tech sector.
