Chip war, without Nvidia even more space and development for Huawei
Are we sure that Joe Biden’s restrictions on microchips are a real obstacle for China? The doubt is more than legitimate, after a few weeks ago Huawei presented a new smartphone containing the most advanced Chinese-produced chip ever. Indeed, there are even those who believe that the limits imposed by the United States on sales of advanced artificial chips to China are creating an opportunity for Huawei to gain market share. To the detriment of American giants in the sector such as Nvidia.
Best known globally for its telecommunications and smartphone businesses, Huawei has been building a line of artificial intelligence chips over the past four years. Huawei presented his Ascend 910 for the first time in 2018, and the chip was officially launched in 2019 as part of a strategy to build a full-stack AI portfolio and become a computing power provider. That same year, the company became the target of U.S. export controls.
At the time, Huawei claimed its chip was the most powerful AI processor in the world, and Chinese media reported that the Ascend 910 original was produced with a 7 nanometer process. The chip, however, has failed to make a dent in Nvidia’s dominance both inside and outside China. At least until recently. Nvidia introduced its A100 and H100 chips in 2020 and 2022, respectively, which captured the majority of the AI chip market share globally, a trend amplified by the emergence of generative AI.
But now all this could change. Huawei has not officially announced the Ascend 910B, a newer version of the 910, but some details about the chip have emerged in public comments from some Chinese companies and academics, as well as in technical guides on Huawei’s website, as reported by Reuters. In August, the president of Chinese AI giant iFlyTek, Liu Qingfeng, praised Huawei for producing a GPU that he said was “basically the same as Nvidia’s A100” and said that iFlyTek was collaborating with Huawei to develop hardware.
And the results are showing. The Chinese digital giant Baidu has ordered artificial intelligence chips from Huawei in recent months. Specifically, these are 1,600 Huawei 910B chips for 200 servers. China’s AI chip market is worth $7 billion, and Nvidia’s gain of market share could represent a win for Huawei over the United States.
Chip war, Biden’s restrictions do not serve to block China
Also because there is no chip Nvidia blocked by the White House, Chinese AI companies will have to rely on domestic products such as Huawei’s less powerful chips, But analysts say it may only be a matter of time before Huawei manages to close this gap, given the amount of support and investment the Chinese government is pouring into AI and semiconductors.
It’s not Beijing’s only move on the microchip front. China saw a surge in imports from the Netherlands in Octoberin what is seen as further evidence of China’s stockpiling of hi-tech chip-making equipment before export controls on these products come into force in January.
Indeed, analysts predict that detailed data released later this month will show another big spend on advanced photolithography machines produced by Europe’s most valuable technology company, ASML. Recognized as a world leader in lithographic machines that print the finest patterns on the most advanced and smallest microchips, ASML it is one of the most important nodes in the chip supply chain. China would be accumulating its technology before the squeeze is too strong.
The Chinese stop on rare earths
And in turn Beijing is cracking down. After the partial blockade of gallium and germanium, two critical metals for the production of advanced semiconductorsChina’s Ministry of Commerce announced the revision of a list of bulk commodities whose imports and exports must be reported for statistical record keeping; rare earths were included in the list for the first time.
According to a circular published on the ministry’s website, exporters must notify the shipment immediately, the amount and time of export of bulk raw materials included in the list. The relevant chambers of commerce for import and export are responsible for collecting and analyzing the data, which will be communicated to the ministry.
A move with an eye on the chips but also on the electric batterieswhere Beijing has an advantage over its rivals.
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