NVIDIA has ordered 300,000 H20 Blackwell chipsets from TSMC, reflecting a significant uptick in demand from the Chinese market, according to sources cited by Reuters. This move comes just months after the United States government, originally under the Trump administration, adjusted an April export ban, allowing NVIDIA to resume sales of H20 graphics processing units to China. The ban had been implemented to prevent advanced Artificial Intelligence chips from reaching Chinese markets due to national security concerns. In response to the export restrictions targeting its higher-performance Artificial Intelligence chipsets in late 2023, NVIDIA specifically developed the H20 model for China, although it features less computing power than global models like the H100 or newer Blackwell series.
Industry analysts estimate that NVIDIA has sold about one million H20 chipsets in 2024, with current stock ranging between 600,000 and 700,000 chips prior to the new TSMC orders. The recent developments follow a period of uncertainty triggered by the April export ban, during which NVIDIA warned investors of potential massive inventory write-offs and billions in lost sales. During a visit to Beijing this month, CEO Jensen Huang noted that the future of H20 production would depend directly on order numbers and cautioned that resuming the supply chain could require up to nine months. Subsequent reports indicate that NVIDIA informed its Chinese clients of restricted H20 supply, with no immediate plans to restart wafer production, and requested new order documentation and sales forecasts from buyers.
The popularity of NVIDIA´s offerings in China persists despite growing competition from domestic manufacturers such as Huawei, which produces less powerful alternatives. Major repair demand for banned NVIDIA GPUs, many of which were smuggled into China, illustrates the ongoing preference for NVIDIA technology among Chinese customers. The significant new order placed with TSMC demonstrates both robust market appetite and the complicated navigation required to comply with United States export controls while addressing soaring demand for Artificial Intelligence hardware within China.
