US Chip controls Boon for China Nvidia rivals, such as Huawei: Analysts

Because the US tightens control over the sale of NVIDIA to China, growing national artificial intelligence, such as Huawei, are of favor, say semiconductors analysts.

Trade Department he said last week that H20 NVIDIA graphics processing units – designed to follow previous US restrictions – would now require a license for export, as well as additional systems with AMD. Nvidia claims that it has already stopped the GPU export, which caused a quarterly fee of around $ 5.5 billion.

But the loss of American AI Darling can be profit for local Chip players in AI, because Beijing is still looking for their own NVIDIA alternative, semiconductor analysts said CNBC.

“There are several local Chinese companies that produce NVIDIA competing systems,” said Brady Wang, deputy director of Contricoint Research.

Examples of these local AI chip manufacturers are Tech Powerhouse Huawei and partly state and publicly mentioned Cambricon technologies that design the GPU.

Cambricon shares have increased by more than 10% in the last five shopping days among the latest NVIDIA controls. Over the past 12 months, shares have increased by over 400%.

Wang said that these local competitors now have a larger impulse and the opportunity to develop and improve their solutions, adding that he expected the demand for their GPU will increase.

Analysts indicated Huawei as a clear leader in the Chinese breed to find a competitor of Nvidia. . US Blacksed The company works itself “Ascend 910“GPU series, the latest of which is supposedly Ascend 910C.

“Thanks to H20 NVIDIA and other advanced GPU limited domestic alternatives, such as the Ascend Huawei series, gain adhesion,” said Doug O'laughlin, an industry analyst at the semianization of an independent research company.

AND Last report Since the intermediate, he states that although Huawei remains a “generation behind in fries”, the company “creates waves” thanks to the equipment that uses them.

“Although there is still gaps in software maturity and general ecosystem readiness, the equipment efficiency closes quickly,” added O'laughlin.

However, experts note that export control also hindered China's ability to produce advanced GPU on the same scale as NVIDIA can through its partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing CompanyThe world's largest producer of contract chips.

“Huawei turned out to be a competitive designer of Fables chips … but they try to find enough supply from their foundry,” said Phelix Lee, a capital-oriented analyst at the semiconductor for Morningstar.

Because the equipment for making the Więs TSMC includes American technology, the company met the US trade restrictions on Huawei and sending advanced systems to China. This made Chinese companies more and more rely on domestic foundations such as Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation.

Nevertheless, SMIC is under its own export control, which prevents access to access Some of the most advanced squares in the world.

Considering these conditions, Lee said that he remains “very skeptical”, that Chinese foundations of chips will be able to provide a sufficient number of H20 GPU alternatives to satisfy the demand of Chinese technology companies in the near future.

Information last month Reported that Chinese companies placed orders for at least $ 16 billion on H20 server systems during the first three months of the year. Nvidia did not immediately answer CNBC for comment.

According to Wang Counter, it is not clear how long the existing supplies of various companies last, but they provide Chinese chip producers more time to increase GPU production.

In a short period: “I think that the impact of control is limited … in the middle to a longer period will depend on the progress of this local GPU development,” he said.

Meanwhile, according to the semianalysis report, Ascend Chip Huawei shows how Chinese export controls did not stop companies such as Huawei, access to critical foreign tools and subordinate needed for advanced graphic processors.

“Although the Ascend Chip can be produced in smic, it is a global chip that has HBM from Korea, the production of the primary waffle from TSMC and is produced by 10 billion equipment for producing fees in the USA, the Netherlands and Japan,” said the report.

Semantilization has added that SMIC production capacity can potentially grow, taking into account continuous access to foreign tools and lack of effective sanctions and enforcement.

TSMC is apparently A study conducted by the US Department of Trade after the Chip, which he created for the Chinese Sophgo, which was in Ascend Huawei 910B Artificial Intelligence Processor.

Considering the reports of the Huawei GPU export and progress, many semiconductor experts expressed doubts that the latest restrictions on NVIDIA will achieve the intended goal.

“The US control on the GPU and semiconductor production equipment was primarily damaged by American companies, including NVIDIA, and at the same time have a marginal impact on the ability of Chinese companies to develop AI Frontier models,” said Paul Triolo, partner and senior China vice president at DGA Group.

Instead, export control encouraged the Chinese semiconductor industry to more innovative during “American technology design”, he added.

Next month, NVIDIA may face additional restrictions on what it can export “AI diffusion rules“For the first time proposed by Biden administration.