With the H20 chip losing traction in China, companies are trialling domestic alternatives that lag in efficiency. A next-generation NVIDIA chip is set for release under U.S. rules.
NVIDIA is preparing a new artificial intelligence processor for the Chinese market. The chip, currently referred to as the B30A, is being designed on the company’s Blackwell architecture and is expected to provide higher performance than the H20 model now available in China.
The plan for the B30A chip comes as Washington reviews export restrictions on advanced semiconductors. The United States has limited access to high-end AI chips, citing security concerns, but discussions are ongoing over the extent to which scaled-down versions may be sold. Nvidia’s revenue from China accounted for 13 percent of its total in the past financial year.
The B30A will feature a single-die design with high-bandwidth memory and NVLink interconnect, similar to the H20. It delivers roughly half the computing performance of Nvidia’s flagship B300 dual-die accelerator. Samples could be supplied to Chinese customers for testing as early as next month.
Nvidia resumed sales of the H20 in July after a temporary suspension in April. The chip had been created specifically for China in response to 2023 export rules. However, Chinese firms have shown reduced interest in the H20, leading to push for domestic chips, particularly from Huawei.
After repeated AI-training failures on Huawei Ascend chips, DeepSeek delayes its R2 model. Yet, Chinese authorities have reportedly required publicly funded data centers to use more than 50% domestic chips, creating integration hurdles as teams translate CUDA-based stacks to Huawei’s CANN software.
NVIDIA is also working on another China-specific product, the RTX6000D, designed primarily for inference workloads. That chip will use GDDR memory and deliver bandwidth below new US regulatory thresholds.
China’s access to advanced semiconductors remains a major issue in U.S.–China trade relations. Lawmakers in Washington continue to express concern that even reduced-specification devices could strengthen Chinese AI development. Meanwhile, Chinese firms, including Huawei, are advancing their own designs, which analysts say remain competitive in some areas though not yet fully aligned with Nvidia’s software ecosystem.
