[News] Chinese Cloud Giants Reportedly Pursue NVIDIA’s H20 Despite Pressure, Eye B30A as Good Deal

Despite geopolitical headwinds, NVIDIA’s H20 AI chip remains in strong demand among Chinese cloud giants. According to Reuters, Alibaba, ByteDance, and other major tech firms are still actively seeking to secure the chip, even as Beijing pressures them to scale back such purchases.

Notably, Reuters suggests that in addition to seeking confirmation that their orders for NVIDIA’s H20 are being processed, these Chinese tech giants are also closely tracking Team Green’s next-gen chip, the B30A, which is based on its Blackwell architecture and still in development.

As Reuters previously reported, the China-specific version of Blackwell, known as the B30A, will likely see a 30–50% reduction in performance. Even so, it could deliver up to six times the performance of the H20, according to the report.

If approved for export by Washington, the B30A is expected to cost roughly twice as much as the H20, which currently sells for $10,000 to $12,000, Reuters suggests. Despite the premium, Chinese tech firms see the pricing as reasonable, the report adds.

While specifications are still being finalized, NVIDIA aims to deliver B30A samples to Chinese clients for testing as early as September, Reuters reveals.

Zero H20 Sales to China Recorded in July Quarter

According to NVIDIA’s 10-Q filing, China’s share of the company’s sales has fallen to 5.9% in the July quarter, down from 12.5% in the April quarter, trailing the U.S. (50.2%), Singapore (21.7%), and Taiwan (18.2%).

While its previous quarter revenue jumped 56% to $46.7 billion, that was its slowest growth in over two years, Bloomberg and CNBC note. Analysts cited by the reports caution that cloud giants may be easing data center expansion, while China’s H20 export hurdles linger—two headwinds now dimming the U.S. chip giant’s momentum.

According to NVIDIA, there were no H20 sales to China-based customers in the previous quarter. However, it did benefit from a $180 million release of previously reserved H20 inventory.

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• [News] China Reportedly Questions Tencent, ByteDance on Buying NVIDIA H20 Instead of Domestic Chips

(Photo credit: NVIDIA)