The journey in China of the NVIDIA GPU for artificial intelligence (AI) H20 has been filled with ups and downs. Since this chip entered the Chinese market in mid-2024, its sales surged by 50% quarter to quarter , positioning it as the most successful Nvidia product of recent years. However, this era of bonanza was short-lived. In mid-April, the US Department of Commerce imposed export restrictions on the H20 GPU specifically targeting China.
Following weeks of negotiations, Nvidia secured the necessary export license to sell the H20 GPU in China. Unfortunately, the joy was fleeting. The Chinese government subsequently imposed a ban on the chip, citing concerns from the Cyberspace Administration of China , the primary internet regulatory body. They initiated a comprehensive investigation into the H20 GPU, suspecting it might incorporate a backdoor that could be exploited, which raised alarms among Chinese cybersecurity experts.
In response, Nvidia engineers have been diligently working on a new GPU specifically tailored for the Chinese market. Dubbed the B30A , this chip is crucial for the future of the company led by Jensen Huang in China. The B30A must satisfy two critical requirements: it needs to be more powerful than the H20 GPU while also complying with the restrictions set forth by the US Department of Commerce . Failing to meet these criteria could prevent Nvidia from obtaining the export license needed to sell the B30A in China.
The Future of the B30A GPU in China: Uncertain Horizons
Chinese companies involved in the development of large AI models find themselves in a precarious situation. They must navigate the export restrictions imposed by the US government while grappling with their dependency on American technology. In an ideal world, these firms would halt their purchases of Nvidia chips and turn towards Chinese alternatives such as those offered by Huawei, Cambricon, and Moore Threads . These local firms have made strides in developing comparable GPUs for AI applications.
Jensen Huang has just recognized that his next GPU will take to arrive in the country led by Xi Jinping
However, according to an article in Foreign Policy by analyst Kyle Chan , the situation is more complicated than meets the eye. Abandoning Nvidia is a daunting task for many Chinese companies—including giants like Tencent , Bytedance , and Alibaba . They opt for Nvidia GPUs because of their superior performance, particularly for training their AI models. Moreover, CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture) technology has ingrained itself deeply within the software development landscape, making it challenging to transition to alternatives.
As most ongoing AI projects utilize CUDA, switching to a different technology could introduce significant complications. Huawei has its own alternative called Can (Compute Architecture for Neural Networks) , but so far, CUDA remains the dominant player in the market.
In this context, the B30A chip represents a vital asset for Nvidia. Reports suggest that the B30A may be half as powerful as Nvidia’s most advanced GPU, the B300 chip . Despite this, it is expected to outperform all currently developed chips in China, particularly regarding AI model training processes.
However, Jensen Huang recently acknowledged that the arrival of the B30A in China will take time—not due to its readiness, but because of the lengthy approval process from the US Trade Department . The ongoing saga surrounding Nvidia’s position in China is nothing short of dramatic.
Image | Nvidia
More information | Reuters
In Xataka | The US gives Huawei a great opportunity: to get its new chip for AI with the Nvidia market in China.