Home / Business and Economy / Nvidia Develops New AI Chip for China, Defying U.S. Restrictions
Nvidia Develops New AI Chip for China, Defying U.S. Restrictions
19 Aug
Summary
- Nvidia developing new AI chip for China, more powerful than current model
- U.S. regulatory approval uncertain amid fears of China's AI tech access
- Chip designed to fall under U.S. restrictions on advanced chip exports
In a move that could further escalate U.S.-China tech tensions, Nvidia is developing a new AI chip for the Chinese market that would be more powerful than the current model it is allowed to sell there. The new chip, tentatively called the B30A, is based on Nvidia's latest Blackwell architecture and is expected to deliver half the raw computing power of the company's flagship B300 accelerator card.
The development comes as the U.S. government has grown increasingly wary of providing China with access to advanced AI technology. While President Trump last week hinted at the possibility of allowing more advanced Nvidia chips to be sold in China, regulatory approval remains far from guaranteed. U.S. legislators, both Democrats and Republicans, have expressed concerns that even scaled-down versions of Nvidia's flagship chips could undermine America's lead in artificial intelligence.
Nvidia, however, argues that it is crucial to retain Chinese interest in its chips, which work with the company's software tools, to prevent developers from completely switching to rival offerings from Huawei and other Chinese firms. The new B30A chip is designed to fall under the thresholds set by recent U.S. export restrictions, using conventional GDDR memory and featuring memory bandwidth just below the limit established by the new rules.
