Nvidia's AI chip sales in China stall, as local chipmakers like Huawei take the lead - Yahoo Finance

In the intensifying US-China tech rivalry, NVIDIA faces mounting challenges in the Chinese AI chip market. Despite previously holding nearly 95% of the market share, export controls imposed by the U.S... Read original →

U.S. export controls on AI chips have backfired, catalyzing China’s domestic substitution rather than stifling innovation. Huawei’s Ascend 910B, though built on a 7nm-equivalent process without EUV, achieves near-H200 training efficiency through full-stack co-optimization—spurring parallel advances in EDA tools, advanced packaging, and AI software stacks. NVIDIA now faces unsustainable compliance costs: its China-specific chips suffer ~30% lower margins, while Huawei leverages state-backed foundry partnerships (e.g., SMIC’s N+2) to build a de-Americanized supply chain. AMD missed the critical window by failing to launch compliant alternatives, and Chinese AI firms like DeepSeek are locking in local vendors. Within 18 months, China’s AI chip market will solidify a closed-loop ecosystem centered on performance, cost, and software integration—marginalizing U.S. players and accelerating the bifurcation of global semiconductor ecosystems.