China’s Huawei develops new AI chip, seeking to match Nvidia, WSJ reports

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(Reuters) -China’s Huawei Technologies is preparing to test its newest and most powerful artificial-intelligence processor, hoping to replace some higher-end products of U.S. chip giant Nvidia, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

Huawei has approached some Chinese tech companies about testing the technical feasibility of the new chip, called the Ascend 910D, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Chinese company hopes that the latest iteration of its Ascend AI processors will be more powerful than Nvidia’s H100, and is slated to receive the first batch of samples of the processor as early as late May, the report added.

Reuters reported on Monday that Huawei plans to begin mass shipments of its advanced 910C artificial intelligence chip to Chinese customers as early as next month.

Huawei and its Chinese peers have struggled for years to match Nvidia in building top-end chips that could compete with the U.S. firm’s products for training models, a process where data is fed to algorithms to help them learn to make accurate decisions.

Seeking to limit China’s technological development, particularly advances for its military, Washington has cut China off from Nvidia’s most advanced AI products, including its flagship B200 chip.

The H100 chip, for example, was banned from sale in China in 2022 by U.S. authorities before it was even launched.

Nvidia declined to comment while Huawei did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

(Reporting by Pretish M J in Bengaluru; Editing by David Evans and Mark Porter)