NVIDIA rumored with even-more-cut-down H20 AI GPU for China, complies with US export rules

NVIDIA is reportedly preparing an even more downgraded H20 AI GPU for China in the next two months, following further tightening US export restrictions on the original H20.

The news is coming from the usual "people familiar with the matter" reports Reuters, with NVIDIA notifying major Chinese retailers -- including large cloud computing providers -- with a new modified H20 AI GPU in July, according to "two of the sources".

We have had recent rumors that NVIDIA was preparing a next-generation H30 AI GPU that would drop from using HBM to GDDR memory, but it seems NVIDIA is tweaking the GPU again. The original H20 chip was the most powerful AI chip that NVIDIA could legally sell in China, but the US government informed the company last month that H20 would now require an export license, effectively cutting NVIDIA off from the Chinese market.

As a result, NVIDIA is now reportedly establishing a new technical baseline and modifying the chip's design, which, according to one source, means significantly lower performance compared to H20. In particular, memory capacity is expected to be "drastically reduced".

China accounts for around $17 billion in revenue for NVIDIA, which works out to around 13% of its total sales for the fiscal year ending January 26, 2025. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has visited Beijing recently, days after US officials announced the new export license requirements for its H20 AI GPU.