NVIDIA is preparing a new AI chip for China: faster than the H20 and with Blackwell architecture
NVIDIA has once again found itself at the centre of a technology drama between the US and China. According to Reuters, the company is working on a new AI chip specifically for the Chinese market. The internal name is B30A and, according to sources, it will be more powerful than the current H20, although formally exports for such products are strictly regulated.
Here's What We Know
The future chip will be built on the Blackwell architecture - the one that provides a 7 to 30 times performance boost over the company's previous AI platform. Its configuration is single-die, that is, all the main components are on a single crystal. In terms of power, the B30A is estimated to be about half that of Blackwell Ultra GPUs, which use a dual-chip scheme.
It is planned to support high-speed memory and proprietary NVLink technology for faster data transfer between processors. NVIDIA hopes to show the first test samples to Chinese customers as early as September.
But there are political overtones to the whole story. Earlier, China made it clear that it does not recommend using H20 in areas related to government agencies and security. Moreover, regulators have even suspended purchases of NVIDIA chips by companies like Alibaba, Bytedance and Tencent while the review is underway. The reason is concern that the H20 is not fully compliant with national security requirements.
The situation is exacerbated by the fact that the U.S. banned H20 exports to China in April due to the risk of military use. In July, the US authorities gave NVIDIA the green light for licences, but not for free: according to media reports, the company will have to share 15% of profits. Now all eyes are on the new B30A - whether it gets the go-ahead or gets stuck in political negotiations is still an open question.