(Feb 26): Nvidia Corp said it secured a licence to ship a small number of its less advanced H200 chips to customers in China, inching forward in its bid to return to the world’s largest semiconductor market.
The leading maker of artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators said that the US government granted it a licence for H200 shipments, subject to inspection in the US and a 25% duty. But it’s still unclear whether Beijing will allow even that limited return, and Nvidia said on Wednesday that it wasn’t including any China data-centre revenue in its first-quarter sales outlook.
Nvidia’s shares were little changed in after-hours trading on Wednesday.
“While small amounts of H200 products for China-based customers were approved by the US government, we have yet to generate any revenue, and we do not know whether any imports will be allowed into China,” chief financial officer Colette Kress told investors on an earnings call.
A political stand-off between Beijing and Washington has restricted Nvidia’s ability to sell its best chips in China, which represents an AI chip market that Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang has said could reach about US$50 billion ($63.14 billion) in the coming years.
The Chinese government is funnelling support to Nvidia’s local rivals such as Huawei Technologies Co and Cambricon Technologies Corp, as well as recently listed MetaX Integrated Circuits Shanghai Co and Moore Threads Technology Co. Chinese chipmakers “have the potential to disrupt the structure of the global AI industry over the long term”, Kress said, repeating earlier comments by Nvidia executives.
See also: Baidu sales down for third straight quarter on weaker AI business
Bloomberg News reported last month that Chinese officials have told the country’s largest tech firms including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd they can prepare H200 orders, suggesting Beijing is close to formally approving imports of components essential to develop and run AI models.
The H200 is an older-generation chip that US President Donald Trump’s administration says can be exported to China. The US government restricts sales of more advanced processors on national security grounds.
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