In a bid to gain a foothold in China’s thriving artificial intelligence (AI) chip market, Nvidia has launched a new graphics card dubbed H20.
The H20 launch comes as the lead-up to a head-to-head battle with Huawei. The latter is also strong-arming its way into a market transformed by the high-end chip export bans the US implemented last summer.
Nvidia’s Competitive Chip is Challenging Huawei’s Dominance
According to Reuters, the H20 is Nvidia’s way of getting around said bans — and it’s a very pointed solution at that — tailored specifically to the Chinese market and its new regulations. The publication also points out that you can now pre-order the H20. This means that it may already be on the market as competition for Huawei’s Skype-like video messaging service rises.
However, this is the first we’ve heard about this particular chip. That may be because of the export restriction imposed last June by the Commerce Department. It prevents American suppliers and service providers from transferring technologies to Huawei. The Ascend 910B in particular has seen its sales grow significantly with the threat of sanctions restricting access to Nvidia’s own technologies.
Technical Details and Pricing
Its impressive capabilities position it as the most powerful among three China-specific chips developed by Nvidia. However, sources suggest that the H20 may trail behind the Ascend 910B in certain crucial aspects. The H20 comes with a price tag ranging between $12,000 and $15,000 per card. Additionally, some distributors are even advertising units at a markup, putting it in close competition with Huawei’s 910B, which retails for around 120,000 yuan.
Distributors are offering H20 servers with pre-configuration of eight AI chips for 1.4 million yuan. It demonstrates a competitive pricing strategy compared to the H800 servers. Note that those sold for approximately 2 million yuan a year ago. The delivery timeline indicates that small batches of the H20 will be available in the first quarter of 2024. Additionally, the larger quantities will probably be in the second quarter.
What’s the Market Dynamics?
Prior to the imposition of US restrictions, Nvidia dominated over 90% of the market share in China’s AI chip sector. However, the landscape is undergoing a transformation, with domestic competitors, particularly Huawei, escalating their efforts. The Ascend 910B from Huawei appears as a robust AI solution. It further intensifies the challenge for Nvidia to sustain its presence in the market.
Insights into the technical aspects unveil intriguing dynamics. Note that the H20 may fall short of the Ascend 910B in FP32 performance, a measure of chip processing speed. However, it boasts an advantage in interconnect speed. This places the H20 competitively in scenarios requiring the linking of multiple chips to operate as a cohesive system.
What are the Manufacturing and Deployment Plans?
Nvidia’s decision to commence mass production of the H20 in the second quarter of this year marks a delay from the initial November launch. Technical hurdles in server integration were the primary reason for the delay. In addition to the H20, Nvidia’s strategy includes two other China-specific chips. They are namely the L20 and the L2, although specifics regarding their rollout remain unclear.
In response to stringent US export restrictions, Nvidia has opted to design chips with reduced computing capabilities, such as the H20, L20, and L2. These chips, featuring the AD102 GPU, aim to navigate regulatory obstacles while still providing competitive solutions in the Chinese market.