Huawei gears up to launch advanced 910C AI chip

This development comes at a crucial time for Chinese AI companies, which have been increasingly seeking domestic alternatives following recent restrictions on Nvidia’s H20 chip. The H20 had been the primary advanced AI chip that US authorities had previously permitted Nvidia to sell relatively freely in the Chinese market.

However, earlier this month, the administration of US President Donald Trump informed Nvidia that future sales of the H20 would now require an export license, further limiting access to crucial AI hardware for Chinese firms.

Huawei’s 910C, a graphics processing unit (GPU), represents an architectural evolution rather than a fundamental technological breakthrough, according to one of the aforementioned individuals and a third source with knowledge of its design.

These sources explained that the 910C achieves performance levels comparable to Nvidia’s high-end H100 chip by ingeniously combining two of Huawei’s existing 910B processors into a single, more powerful package through advanced integration techniques.

This innovative approach effectively doubles the computing power and memory capacity compared to the 910B. The 910C also incorporates incremental improvements, including enhanced support for a wider range of AI workload data types, the sources added.

All sources who provided this information were not authorized to speak to the media and requested anonymity. Huawei did not immediately respond to a request for comment on these reports.

Driven by a strategic objective to curb China’s technological advancement, particularly in areas with military applications, Washington has progressively restricted China’s access to Nvidia’s most cutting-edge AI products, including its flagship B200 chip. Notably, the H100 chip itself was banned from sale in China by US authorities in 2022, even before its official launch.

These US sanctions have created an opportunity for Huawei and emerging Chinese GPU startups like Moore Threads and Iluvatar CoreX to compete in a market that has historically been dominated by Nvidia.

Paul Triolo, a partner at the consulting firm Albright Stonebridge Group, commented on the latest US export restrictions, stating that the US Commerce Department’s curbs on Nvidia’s H20 “will mean that Huawei’s Ascend 910C GPU will now become the hardware of choice for Chinese AI model developers and for deploying inference capacity.”

Sources had previously indicated that Huawei distributed samples of the 910C to several technology firms and began accepting orders late last year, signaling its readiness for wider adoption.

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While Reuters was unable to independently verify which companies would be the primary manufacturers of the 910C, a source had previously indicated that China’s SMIC is producing some key components of the GPUs using its N+2 7nm process technology, although its chip yield rates are reportedly low.

Adding another layer of complexity, at least some of Huawei’s 910C chips utilize components that were manufactured by Taiwanese contract chip manufacturing giant TSMC for China-based AI firm Sophgo, according to one of the sources and a fourth individual.

The US Commerce Department has reportedly been investigating TSMC’s work for Sophgo after one of its TSMC-made chips was discovered within a 910B processor.

Lennart Heim, a researcher at Rand’s Technology and Security and Policy Centre in the US, who closely tracks Chinese AI developments, estimates that TSMC manufactured nearly three million chips in recent years that matched the design ordered by Sophgo. Sophgo did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this matter.

TSMC, in a statement, affirmed its commitment to complying with all regulatory requirements and reiterated that it has not supplied Huawei since mid-September 2020.