Nvidia is reportedly developing a new China-specific computer chip that can be connected into high-powered “clusters” needed to power artificial intelligence models – despite the Trump administration’s move to tighten export controls on AI chips.
The chip, which is being referred to as the B30, is already drawing interest from China-based tech giants like TikTok parent ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent, The Information reported on Friday.
Nvidia, led by CEO Jensen Huang, has told customers that it plans to produce more than 1 million B30 chips this year, the outlet said. The chips are said to be compliant with the White House’s stricter export controls, which have focused on individual chips rather than clusters.
When reached for comment, an Nvidia spokesperson said the company continues to evaluate its options. “With the ban on H20, our competitors in China are now largely shielded from US competition and free to leverage that entire $50 billion market to build a strong AI ecosystem,” the spokesperson said.
Shares of Nvidia were up about 1% in trading Monday.
The chips in development would mark the latest bid by Nvidia to preserve access to the lucrative China market. US officials have grown increasingly wary of allowing Beijing to access the most powerful US-made chips over fears that China will surpass the US in the race to develop advanced AI.
The most recent restrictions imposed in April blocked Nvidia from selling its H20 chip, which had been developed specifically for China in response to earlier export controls.
Last month, Nvidia said it expected revenue of about $45 billion in the fiscal second quarter – with a loss of $8 billion in expected sales of H20 chips that would have been shipped to China.
During the company’s May 28 earnings call, Huang acknowlegged that Nvidia was “considering” releasing a new chip in China that would comply with the export controls.
“The key is to understand the limits and see if we can come up with interesting products that could continue to serve the Chinese market. We don’t have anything at the moment, but we’re considering it,” Huang said at the time.
“Obviously, the limits are quite stringent at the moment. And we have nothing to announce today. And when the time comes, we’ll engage the administration and discuss that,” he added.
