Report: Nvidia orders 300,000 H20 chips from TSMC due to China demand
The Trump administration recently allowed Nvidia to resume sales of H20 GPUs to China, reversing an effective ban that aimed to keep advanced AI chips from reaching China. The new orders with TMSC would add to the existing inventory of 600,000 to 700,000 H20 chips, Reuters reports.
Nvidia placed orders for 300,000 H20 chipsets with Taiwan’s TSMC, with strong Chinese demand leading the US company to change its mind about just relying on its existing stockpile, Reuters reported.
The US recently allowed Nvidia to resume sales of H20 GPUs to China, reversing an effective ban that aimed to keep advanced AI chips from reaching China.
The new orders with TMSC would add to the existing inventory of 600,000 to 700,000 H20 chips, sources told Reuters.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has said that the level of H20 orders it received would determine whether production would begin again. Restarting the supply chain is expected to take nine months.
Nvidia needs to obtain export licenses from the US government to ship the H20 chips.
According to an earlier Reuters report, Nvidia was also considering launching a new AI chipset for China at a lower price than its H20 model. This GPU, featuring Nvidia’s new generation Blackwell-architecture AI processors, may be priced between USD 6,500 and USD 8,000, significantly below the USD 10,000-USD 12,000 the recently restricted H20 sold for, the report had claimed.
Nvidia has warned of a USD 5.5 billion hit to its quarterly results due to the export controls.
Soaring global demand for AI chips has made Nvidia one of the world’s most valuable companies. Revenue from China (including Hong Kong) represents over 13% of Nvidia’s total yearly revenue.
The US is using export controls to slow China’s development of advanced AI chips, including those used by the Chinese military. However, some experts have questioned the long-term feasibility of such an approach.
