NVIDIA samples two new AI GPUs for China, both comply with US export restrictions

NVIDIA is offering customers samples of two new artificial intelligence chips for the Chinese market, where NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang wants to defend its market dominance in China against the tides of US export restrictions on AI GPUs in the country.

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NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said: "We're sampling it with customers now. Both of them comply with the regulation without a license. We're looking forward to customer feedback on it. We're expecting that we're... going to go compete for business, and hopefully we can serve the market successfully".

Jensen didn't mention which AI GPUs NVIDIA is preparing for China, but back in November 2023, we began hearing about three new AI GPUs that the company was preparing for the country: H20, L20, and L2. These new AI GPUs are cut-down variants that meet the US export regulations, with the same latest features from NVIDIA, but their AI computing power has been culled.

• Read more: NVIDIA's tweaked H20 AI GPU: mass production in Q2 2024, destined for China
• Read more: NVIDIA delays new H20 AI GPU to China, first chip designed after US sanctions
• Read more: US gov looking at NVIDIA's new AI GPUs for China, says they're a 'good partner'

The US government placed expanded export control measures in October 2023, which affected NVIDIA's growing business in China. These restrictions have stopped NVIDIA's high-end AI GPUs and even high-end gaming graphics cards, like the GeForce RTX 4090, from being banned in China.

NVIDIA felt the effects of that in its recent record-breaking fiscal fourth quarter results, with the company recording $1.9 billion in sales in its China business, down from 22% in the previous quarter with $4 billion in sales from China.

Jensen said on the earnings call: "We expect this quarter to be about the same. But after that, hopefully, we can go compete for our business and do our best, and we'll see how it turns out".