Huawei is preparing to launch its new Ascend 910C chip, designed specifically for the Chinese market and aimed at rivaling Nvidia’s offerings. The company has already provided samples of the chip to its partners among Chinese telecommunications operators.
The Ascend 910C has been tested by major Chinese companies, including Baidu, ByteDance, and China Mobile. According to Huawei, the device is on par with Nvidia’s H100, although it is unclear which benchmark terms the Ascend 910C is comparable to Nvidia’s previous-generation flagship product.
The potential demand for the Ascend 910C is substantial, with preliminary talks suggesting orders could surpass 70,000 units, worth around $2 billion. Huawei targets starting shipments in October, but the final order quantities and delivery schedules remain uncertain.
Despite progress, Huawei is grappling with production challenges due to existing U.S. sanctions restricting access to advanced manufacturing tools. The company is reportedly preparing for additional U.S. restrictions that could curb shipments of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) to China and is stockpiling HBM2E as a precaution.
Nvidia continues to sell downgraded versions of its AI GPUs, such as the HGX H20, to Chinese customers. However, these GPUs are less potent than what is available in other markets, leaving many Chinese clients unsatisfied. Huawei’s new Ascend 910C could fill this gap if it can meet production targets.
The rivalry between Huawei and Nvidia in the Chinese market is heating up. If Huawei can ramp up production of the Ascend 910C without further hindrances, Nvidia could quickly lose its competitive edge in China.
Source: https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/huawei-already-has-a-new-chip-to-rival-nvidia-ai-gpus