NVIDIA is working on a new chip specifically for the Chinese market that will use the Blackwell architecture introduced last year and be more powerful than the H20, so far the fastest chip for China, Reuters reports, citing sources familiar with the matter.
NVIDIA got this opportunity after CEO Jensen Huang met with Donald Trump and convinced him to allow the sale of chips to China. First, the US president agreed to resume H20 supplies, and last week announced that the world's most expensive company would also be able to sell special Blackwell semiconductors for the Chinese market, which would be 30-50% slower than the usual versions.
The new chip for China, known internally as the B30A, will feature a single-chip design, rather than the dual-chip design of the flagship B300. As a result, the semiconductor will provide about half the computing power.
The chip will also receive high-speed memory and NVIDIA NVLink technology for fast data transfer between processors, which is also available on the H20 chip. The final specifications of the B30A have not yet been finalized, but NVIDIA plans to provide the first samples for testing to Chinese companies by the end of August.
"We evaluate a variety of products for our roadmap, so that we can be prepared to compete to the extent that governments allow. Everything we offer is with the full approval of the applicable authorities and designed solely for beneficial commercial use," the company said in a statement.
After Donald Trump allowed the resumption of chip shipments to China, the US government struck a deal with NVIDIA and AMD, under which both companies must pay 15% of revenue from all sales to Chinese firms. This deal covered the H20 and MI308 chips, but it is likely that the upcoming, even more powerful B30A will also fall under it.