Huawei Develops New Ascend 910D AI Chip to Challenge Nvidia’s H100 Dominance
Huawei Technologies Co. is stepping up efforts to challenge Nvidia’s supremacy in artificial intelligence (AI) hardware, developing a new chip named the Ascend 910D, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
The report states that Huawei has recently approached several Chinese technology companies to test the technical capabilities of the new processor. Huawei hopes the Ascend 910D will outperform Nvidia’s high-end H100 AI chip, which is widely considered a benchmark for training sophisticated machine learning models.
The first batch of Ascend 910D samples is expected to be available by late May, and Huawei is aiming to rapidly scale production thereafter. Reuters also reported earlier this week that Huawei plans to begin mass shipments of its earlier advanced AI chip, the Ascend 910C, to Chinese customers as early as next month, signaling an aggressive push to bolster China’s domestic AI hardware ecosystem.
Context of Huawei’s Push
Huawei’s move comes amid tightening U.S. export restrictions that have cut Chinese companies off from Nvidia’s latest AI technology. The U.S. government banned Nvidia from selling its H100 chips to China in 2022, even before the product’s official release. More recently, Washington further restricted access to Nvidia’s next-generation B200 chips, citing national security concerns and efforts to limit the advancement of Chinese military applications.
For years, Chinese tech firms have struggled to develop AI training chips that can compete with Nvidia’s products, which dominate the global market. Training AI models—especially large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT—requires immense computational power, a domain where Nvidia has maintained a technological and market advantage through its combination of cutting-edge chips, software ecosystems (such as CUDA), and deep integration with AI frameworks.
Huawei’s Strategic Importance
Huawei’s semiconductor arm, HiSilicon, has been at the forefront of China’s efforts to achieve greater technological independence following U.S. sanctions. The company’s previous Ascend 910 chip, launched in 2019, was touted as the most powerful AI processor of its time, although in practice, it lagged behind Nvidia in widespread adoption and performance optimization.
By advancing the Ascend 910D, Huawei is positioning itself not just to supply Chinese tech giants but also to support the broader strategic goal of reducing China’s reliance on U.S. technology. This effort is critical at a time when Chinese firms are investing heavily in AI development but face increasing constraints due to U.S. export controls.
Outlook
While details on the Ascend 910D’s exact specifications and performance benchmarks are not yet public, Huawei’s ambition is clear: to create a domestically produced chip that can power cutting-edge AI models without dependency on American technology. Whether the Ascend 910D can truly rival or surpass Nvidia’s H100 remains to be seen, but its development marks another important chapter in the ongoing tech rivalry between China and the United States.