NVIDIA plans to release a simplified version of its H20 chip for China in the next two months due to export restrictions imposed by the United States. The original version of the H20, which was the most powerful for China, was blocked after the US government said it required a license to sell it, Reuters reports.
A modified version of the chip, scheduled for release in July, will have reduced specifications, including less memory. However, customers will be able to customize the chip's performance.
The move is part of NVIDIA's strategy to maintain its presence in the important Chinese market despite U.S. export restrictions imposed over possible military use of the chips. NVIDIA has already notified its major Chinese customers, including cloud services, of the planned release of an updated version of the chip.
Last month, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang visited Beijing and stressed the importance of China to the company. China accounts for 13% of NVIDIA's total sales, making the market strategically important. Since 2022, the US has restricted exports of cutting-edge chips to China, and after October 2023, when export regulations were tightened, NVIDIA introduced the H20.
Chinese tech giants, including Tencent, Alibaba, and ByteDance, have been actively ordering H20 chips due to growing demand for affordable AI models, creating additional difficulties for NVIDIA under constraints.