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22/07/2024

A New Flagship AI Processor From Nvidia Is Being Prepared For The Chinese Market




A New Flagship AI Processor From Nvidia Is Being Prepared For The Chinese Market
Nvidia is developing a version of its new flagship AI processors for the Chinese market that would comply with existing export laws from the United States, according to a report published by Reuters quoting information from sources.
 
The "Blackwell" chip family, which will go into commercial production later this year, was announced by the AI chip behemoth in March. Two squares of silicon, the size of the company's prior product, are combined in the new CPUs. In the series, the B200 outperforms its predecessor by 30 times on some tasks, such as providing chatbot responses.
 
The "B20" chip, as it is being called informally, will be launched and distributed by Nvidia in collaboration with Inspur, one of its primary distributor partners in China, according to two of the people.
 
The individuals asked not to be named since Nvidia has not yet released a statement to the public.
 
An Nvidia representative declined to comment. Requests for comments from Inspur were not answered.
 
In 2023, Washington strengthened its restrictions on the shipment of advanced semiconductors to China in an effort to thwart supercomputing advancements that would benefit China's armed forces.
 
Since then, Nvidia has created three processors with the Chinese market in mind.
 
The Chinese technology giant Huawei and startups like Tencent-backed Enflame have gained some traction in the local market for powerful AI processors thanks to the introduction of stricter export regulations in the United States.
 
The Chinese market would benefit from a Blackwell series processor from Nvidia, which would help the American company combat those obstacles.
 
Due to U.S. sanctions, China's revenue share of Nvidia's revenue decreased to about 17% from 26% two years before to the end of January.
 
When delivery of Nvidia's most sophisticated processor for the Chinese market, the H20, started this year, the American company priced it less than a competing chip from Huawei, which caused an early downturn in sales, as Reuters reported in May.
 
Two sources stated that sales are now increasing at a quick pace.
 
SemiAnalysis, a research organisation, estimates that Nvidia will sell over a million H20 chips in China this year, for a total estimated value of over $12 billion.
 
It is highly anticipated that the United States would persist in exerting pressure on export restrictions linked to semiconductors.
 
According to reports, the United States wants the Netherlands and Japan to further limit the supply of chipmaking equipment to China.
 
According to insiders, the Biden administration is also considering putting restrictions on the most sophisticated AI Models, which are the fundamental components of ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence systems.
 
Global chip stocks fell last week following Bloomberg News's report that Biden's administration was considering a proposal known as the foreign direct product rule, which would give the United States the authority to halt the sale of a product if it was manufactured using technology developed in the United States.
 
(Source:www.reuters.com)

Christopher J. Mitchell

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