Report: Huawei develops new AI chip to compete with Nvidia

China’s Huawei Technologies is set to test its powerful new AI processor, hoping to replace some higher-end products of US semiconductor giant Nvidia, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

Huawei has approached some Chinese tech firms about testing the technical feasibility of the new chip, Ascend 910D, the report said.

The company could receive the first batch of samples of the processor as early as May, sources told The Wall Street Journal.

The Chinese telecommunications giant, which has been on a US trade blacklist for nearly six years, hopes that the latest iteration of its Ascend AI line of processors will prove to be more powerful than Nvidia’s AI chip H100.  

However, only a series of tests will determine whether the chip’s performance is good enough for customers, the report said.

China is seeking to develop its own high-tech chips to combat the adverse impact of US sanctions, and Chinese companies like Huawei are expected to play a key role in that endeavor. 

The Trump administration added Nvidia’s H20 chip to the list of semiconductors out of bounds for China. 

Nvidia, the world’s leading AI chipmaker, is worried that Huawei could become a major global competitor in AI. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has warned US officials that blocking American companies from competing in China would accelerate Huawei’s rise, according to an earlier report by The New York Times.

According to a Reuters report, Huawei plans to begin mass shipments of its 910C AI chip to Chinese customers as early as next month.