Huawei is set to begin mass shipments of its latest artificial intelligence chip, the Ascend 910C, to domestic customers as early as next month, according to sources familiar with the company’s plans.
The move follows recent export restrictions imposed by Washington on Nvidia’s H20 chip, which had been the primary choice for many Chinese AI developers.
The sources said some shipments of the 910C have already taken place. Huawei’s chip is seen as a significant upgrade on its earlier 910B model.
While it does not represent a radical innovation, the 910C delivers comparable performance to Nvidia’s high-end H100 chip by integrating two 910B units into a single package. This design offers greater computing power and memory, as well as improved support for diverse AI tasks.
Washington’s tightening of technology exports to China has disrupted access to Nvidia’s advanced chips, including the H100 and the yet-to-be-launched B200. This has opened the market for Chinese firms such as Huawei, Moore Threads, and Iluvatar CoreX.
Paul Triolo of Albright Stonebridge Group said the 910C could become the primary hardware choice for Chinese AI model developers. Huawei began distributing samples late last year and has since started taking orders.
China’s SMIC is reportedly producing components of the 910C, though with low yield rates. Meanwhile, the US is investigating whether Taiwan’s TSMC supplied chips via China-based Sophgo for Huawei’s earlier processors. Huawei has denied using TSMC-made chips from Sophgo.
