It seems that the Trump administration doesn't plan to lift restrictions on the H20 AI accelerator, and NVIDIA would now need to develop a new alternative for China.
NVIDIA Would Likely Need To Introduce a New AI Chip To Comply With US Restrictions & Continue Business In China
The US government has been active when it comes to restricting China's access to cutting-edge AI hardware, and since the Biden administration, we have seen NVIDIA in continuous pursuit of revising its offerings to China. Well, recently, President Trump barred Team Green from selling its highly-demanded H20 AI accelerator to China, and now, based on comments (via CNBC) from the Director of the National Economic Council (NEC), Kevin Hassett, there seems to be no possibility of NVIDIA getting back into selling its H20 AI GPU to China, despite the US showing easiness on chip export controls.
When asked whether the US easing export controls would allow a ban uplift on the H20 AI GPU, Hassett revealed that no such option is onboard. This likely ends NVIDIA and its H20 AI business in China. Interestingly, based on what Team Green has reported, this restriction has cost them "tens of billions" since the demand for the H20 AI accelerator was at its peak when the export controls were introduced. Now, the critical question is, what's next for NVIDIA and its business in China?
Well, Jensen has said they cannot revise Hopper products any further, implying that there needs to be a new generation available for China. Now, based on previous rumors, we know that NVIDIA is planning to introduce a new Blackwell chip for the region, and to comply with US restrictions, it is rumored that the new accelerator could feature GDDR7 chips, similar to what NVIDIA offers with the RTX 6000 ADA lineup. So it is likely that Team Green will introduce an option identical to its workstation GPU in performance, and will likely rely on CUDA to drive the sales.
The US-China chip war is far from over, and it seems like NVIDIA has to comply with both parties to ensure that its business stays afloat. It would be interesting to see how Team Green evolves in China in the future since there are few prospects available for them.
About the author: Muhammad Zuhair is a hardware and technology reporter for Wccftech, specializing in the semiconductor industry and the complex interplay between technology, manufacturing, and geopolitics. His coverage focuses on the corporate strategies and technological roadmaps of industry giants like TSMC, NVIDIA, Samsung, and Intel. Zuhair's expertise lies in deconstructing complex topics such as fabrication nodes (e.g., 2nm process), the economic impact of policies like the CHIPS Act, and the strategic development of AI infrastructure from NVIDIA, AMD and Intel.
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