Chinese telecoms vendor Huawei is looking to capitalise on the uncertainty caused by Donald Trump’s tariffs by launching a new AI chip that will compete directly with the likes of Nvidia, according to reports. The tech giant will begin mass shipments of its advanced 910C AI chip to its Chinese customer base as early as […]
Chinese telecoms vendor Huawei is looking to capitalise on the uncertainty caused by Donald Trump’s tariffs by launching a new AI chip that will compete directly with the likes of Nvidia, according to reports.
The tech giant will begin mass shipments of its advanced 910C AI chip to its Chinese customer base as early as next month, reports Reuters, citing “two people familiar with the matter”.
Huawei’s move comes as Chinese manufacturers look at potential replacements for the Nvidia H20 AI chip, which had until recently been sold freely into China without an export licence.
The Trump administration recently changed its rules on AI chip exports and told Nvidia it would require a licence to see the H20, leaving Chinese firms scrambling for potential alternatives. Washington had already cut off sales of its flagship B200 chip into China.
Following news of the new restrictions, Nvidia said it is taking a write-off of up to $5.5 billion for inventory in its fiscal first quarter, indicating that it doesn’t expect to be granted any licenses.
Rival AMD also received similar restrictions on its MI308 products, leading the company to announce up to $800 million in inventory write-offs.
Huawei has declined to comment on the reporting of its shipment plans.
The opportunity arises amid President Trump’s ongoing plans to introduce tariffs to US trading partners. The President initially unveiled a baseline 10% tariff on all partners, with those who hold trade deficits with the US hit with an even higher percentage.
Trump has since delayed the introduction of most tariffs, but China has been hit particularly hard, after Beijing introduced retaliatory tariffs on US exporters. At the time of writing, some Chinese exporters face additional levies of up to 145% on goods sold into the US, though Trump yesterday said this will “come down substantially” though it won’t hit zero, he added.
