Huawei to test Ascend 910D AI chip in bid to rival Nvidia

Huawei is preparing to test its new Ascend 910D artificial intelligence chip, aiming to compete with Nvidia’s top processors, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.  

The Shenzhen-based company has approached several Chinese technology firms to receive the first batch of sample chips by late May, marking an early step in evaluating the chip’s performance before it becomes widely available.  

Huawei hopes the Ascend 910D will outperform Nvidia’s H100 chip, which was widely used for AI training in 2022.  

The company is also set to ship over 800,000 units of its earlier Ascend 910B and 910C chips to a range of customers, including state-owned telecoms and private AI developers such as ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok.  

This move comes as Beijing encourages Chinese AI firms to purchase more domestic chips amid escalating trade tensions with the United States.  

Recent U.S. export restrictions have made it difficult for Nvidia to sell its most advanced chips, such as the H20, to China, and have also limited the export of key components like high-bandwidth memory units.  

Huawei is focusing on building more efficient systems, such as the CloudMatrix 384, which connects multiple Ascend chips to boost computing power through chip arrays.  

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for “self-reliance and self-strengthening” in AI development, emphasising the need to master core technologies and build an independent AI ecosystem.  

Xi stated, “We must continue to strengthen basic research, concentrate our efforts on mastering core technologies such as high-end chips and basic software, and build an independent, controllable, and collaborative artificial intelligence basic software and hardware system.”  

Meanwhile, the U.S. has imposed tariffs as high as 145% on most Chinese goods, and President Trump has urged Xi to negotiate a trade deal.  

China has responded by stating it is not engaging in talks and has called for the U.S. to “stop creating confusion.”