Nvidia Plans More China Focused AI Chips After H20 Sales Resumption
Nvidia will increase shipments of its H20 chips to China in the coming months and aims to introduce new, advanced semiconductors to the market, Chief Executive Jensen Huang said during an event in Beijing. His comments follow the US government’s recent decision to lift restrictions on H20 chip exports.
H20 Chips Back on Sale in China
Nvidia’s H20 chip, designed for artificial intelligence (AI) tasks like large language models (LLMs), was previously banned from sale to China over US national security concerns. However, the restriction has now been eased as part of broader trade negotiations between the US and China.
“H20 was released from its ban,” Huang stated, noting that its high memory bandwidth makes it ideal for LLMs and newer AI models. He confirmed that Nvidia would continue to sell the H20 in China and hopes to introduce even more advanced chips in the future, within US export limits.
Huang highlighted the importance of the Chinese market for Nvidia, warning that losing sales in China could affect the company’s global leadership, especially as local players like Huawei seek to attract developers with domestic alternatives.
New RTX Pro GPU for Chinese Market
To further tap into China’s AI demand, Nvidia has unveiled plans for a new chip—the RTX Pro GPU. This semiconductor will comply with US export restrictions and is designed for industrial applications, particularly in smart factories and robotics training.
“Here in China, because there’s so much robotics innovation going on, and so much smart factory work being done, RTX Pro is perfect,” Huang explained.
Strong Demand and Regulatory Approvals
Huang noted that Nvidia had already received significant orders for its H20 chips from Chinese companies. However, each order requires approval from the US government. Firms like Tencent and ByteDance are reportedly in the process of seeking licenses, though ByteDance has denied this.
At the event, Huang praised AI models from Chinese firms such as Alibaba, Tencent, and Deepseek, describing them as “world class.” He also stressed that AI is transforming global supply chains.
Nvidia’s balanced strategy seeks to maintain its dominance in AI hardware while navigating the complex trade tensions between the US and China.
with inputs from Reuters
