Huawei is making strides in the AI chip market with its Ascend 910C processor, which is currently being tested with major Chinese server companies. This move comes as a direct response to US sanctions that previously barred the sale of Nvidia's A100 and H100 GPUs to China. The Ascend 910C is an upgraded version of the 910B, which Huawei claims is comparable to Nvidia's offerings and has already been utilized to train half of China's leading large language models (LLMs) [92b8b287].
Chinese tech firms are rapidly advancing in AI technology, despite facing restrictions on accessing advanced chips. Companies such as Shengshu AI, Kuaishou, and Zhipu AI have launched their own AI video tools, while Alibaba has developed its Qwen2 open-source LLM family, which is ranked number one by Hugging Face [8e4edb55]. The ability of Chinese firms to innovate locally has allowed them to create their own LLMs, with Huawei's Ascend 910B chip reportedly delivering between 80-120% of the performance of Nvidia's A100 when training LLMs [8e4edb55].
The US sanctions have impacted Huawei's production capabilities, particularly regarding the advanced chip fabrication machines that have caused certain components to break down. However, Huawei remains optimistic about its AI ambitions, emphasizing that the future of AI infrastructure should not solely rely on advanced chips but should also incorporate cloud solutions and a converged approach that combines cloud, edge, and networks [d84b966c].
Despite the challenges posed by US restrictions, Nvidia anticipates generating $12 billion in revenue from AI chip sales in China this year, with plans to deliver over 1 million H20 AI chips. This highlights the strong demand for advanced AI chips in China's growing AI sector [1ee146f4]. In contrast, Huawei is expected to sell around 550,000 units of its Ascend 910B chips during the same period, showcasing a competitive landscape for AI technologies [92b8b287].
Nvidia has faced scrutiny in the market, particularly regarding its competitive practices amid ongoing antitrust investigations. The company maintains that it competes fairly, despite concerns from major tech companies like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, which heavily rely on Nvidia's AI chips. Nvidia's recent quarterly sales of $30 billion have raised questions about the sustainability of its growth, leading to an 8% drop in its share price [64be1a9a].
In addition to the Ascend 910C, Nvidia is working on a version of its Blackwell series AI chip tailored for the Chinese market, collaborating with Inspur, one of its major distributors in China. This comes as the US continues to pressure allies like the Netherlands and Japan to restrict Chinese access to chip-making equipment [2e135ed4].
As the competition heats up, Huawei's advancements in AI chip technology could potentially reshape the landscape, especially as the company leverages the opportunities created by US sanctions to enhance its cloud services and AI capabilities [92b8b287].