NVIDIA plans to release a new Blackwell-based GPU specifically for China. It will cost around $6,500-8,000, significantly less than the banned H20 model, which costs $10,000-12,000, Reuters reports.
The new server-focused GPU will feature a simplified configuration: it will not require TSMC's expensive CoWoS packaging and will use GDDR7 instead of HBM memory. This allows the company to reduce costs and stay within US export requirements, which limit memory bandwidth to 1.7–1.8 TB/s.
China remains a key market for NVIDIA, accounting for 13% of its annual revenue. The company has already lost half of its market share in the country due to sanctions, from 95% in 2022 to 50% today. Huawei remains the main competitor with its Ascend 910B chips.
Production of the new GPU is expected to start in June, and NVIDIA is preparing another model based on the Blackwell architecture for China in September. The final name of the chip is currently unknown.
Recall that in April, the US told NVIDIA that the H20 chip now requires an export license to be supplied to China for an indefinite period. The restrictions are related to concerns that the chip could be used in Chinese supercomputers. After this announcement, NVIDIA shares fell by 6%, and this caused a drop in shares of other chip manufacturers in the US and Asia, in particular AMD.
By the way, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang considers the US export restrictions on chips to China a failure. According to him, the restrictions have caused more harm to American companies themselves than to their Chinese competitors.