This move comes in sequence of the Chinese government outright banning the usage of Nvidia AI chips. The ban immediately pushed AI datacenter power usage by a reported 30 to 50%, as the efficiency of Chinese chips lags behind that of Nvidia's H20. It's worth noting that H20 is from the Grace Hopper generation rather than the fresh Blackwell offerings. The newer chips are export-controlled by the U.S. , but the power efficiency delta between Blackwell and Chinese chips would be greater still.
China is in the middle of a push for independence from US chip companies, while simultaneously boosting national chip production. The country has long since lagged in chip development but has made long strides in the past decade. Even if the national chips aren't yet quite comparable to Nvidia and AMD's offerings, the speed at which the country is catching up is impressive. Huawei, Cambricon, Alibaba, and Biren all make AI accelerators, with Huawei in the national lead with its Ascend 910C chip .
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Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/big-tech/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/big-tech/chinese-provinces-offer-steep-power-discounts-to-ai-companies-using-china-made-chips-country-continues-its-aggressive-push-towards-ai-independence-and-homegrown-silicon#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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