Stay connected with BizTech Community—follow us on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news and reviews delivered straight to you.
Nvidia is developing a new graphics processing unit (GPU) specifically for the Chinese market. The company is working to stay within tightened U.S. export controls that have curtailed the availability of its most powerful AI chips.
The forthcoming chip, built on Nvidia’s latest Blackwell architecture, is expected to be priced between $6,500 and $8,000 — significantly lower than the now-banned H20 model, which sold for $10,000–$12,000.
According to multiple sources familiar with the matter, the new chip will be based on the RTX Pro 6000D and will use GDDR7 memory instead of high-bandwidth memory.
It will also avoid Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s (TSMC) advanced Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate (CoWoS) packaging.
The design reflects a balance between regulatory compliance and market demand in China’s $50 billion data center sector.
Regulatory Limits Shape Technical Capabilities
Export rules introduced by the U.S. government now limit GPU memory bandwidth to a maximum of 1.8 terabytes per second for chips destined for China.
According to estimates from GF Securities, Nvidia’s new GPU is expected to meet these constraints by delivering around 1.7 terabytes per second, just within the allowable range.
This is a significant downgrade from the H20’s four terabytes per second, a key factor in AI performance.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently confirmed that further adaptations of the older Hopper architecture used in the H20 are no longer possible under the current restrictions, prompting the company to shift entirely to Blackwell-based designs for China.
Market Losses and Strategic Pivots
According to Huang, Nvidia’s market share in China has fallen sharply, from 95% before 2022 to around 50% today.
He warned that continued U.S. curbs will drive more Chinese customers toward domestic alternatives, particularly Huawei, which manufactures the competing Ascend 910B chip.
The H20 export ban has already had a severe financial impact.
According to Huang’s remarks on the Stratechery podcast, Nvidia wrote off $5.5 billion in inventory and forfeited an estimated $15 billion in sales.
Still, the company is not abandoning the Chinese market and is reportedly preparing another Blackwell-based chip variant that could enter production as soon as September.
Strategic Importance of the China Market
Despite escalating trade restrictions, China remains vital for Nvidia, accounting for 13% of its revenue in the last fiscal year.
Since 2022, the company has already had to design three different GPU lines tailored for China. The upcoming Blackwell-based chip—potentially named the 6000D or B40—is seen as a tactical move to regain footing in the region without breaching U.S. export laws.
A spokesperson for Nvidia described the company’s current options as “limited,” noting that any new design must first receive U.S. government approval.
“Until we settle on a new product design and receive approval from the U.S. government, we are effectively foreclosed from China’s $50 billion data center market,” the spokesperson said.
Nvidia, amidst the ongoing tech standoff between Washington and Beijing, is grappling with the challenge of developing advanced hardware within increasingly narrow regulatory constraints, all while attempting to sustain its market presence in one of its largest international segments.
