NVIDIA (NVDA, Financial), the American chip giant, is reportedly set to release a new AI chip for the Chinese market, based on the Blackwell architecture, with a significantly lower price than its previous H20 chip. Production is expected to start as early as June. The new AI processor will be priced between $6,500 and $8,000, considerably less than the H20. This lower pricing typically indicates reduced specifications and a simplified manufacturing process.
This move marks NVIDIA's third attempt to introduce a downgraded chip version for China that complies with U.S. regulatory requirements. Recently, the U.S. government banned NVIDIA from selling its H20 chip, based on the Hopper architecture, to China. Although NVIDIA considered developing a downgraded H20 version for China, CEO Jensen Huang acknowledged that the Hopper architecture could no longer be modified under the current U.S. export restrictions.
