NVIDIA signaled its intentions to provide Chinese customers with new computational accelerators that conform to US export control rules implemented in October. Unofficial data suggests NVIDIA might mirror rival Huawei’s pricing policy for its upcoming H20 accelerator in China.
According to Reuters, NVIDIA is already taking orders from Chinese customers for the H20 accelerators intended for the local market under new restrictions. Initial supplies will begin rolling out incrementally thisquarter, with full-scale deliveries not starting before the next quarter. The H20 is expected to perform below the H100, which is banned from Chinese distribution, and the less powerful H800, which was distributable in China until last October.
The NVIDIA H20 is reported to be inferior in some attributes to Huawei’s Ascend B910B accelerators. NVIDIA is choosing this model as their benchmark for pricing. H20 accelerators will be positioned within a price range of $12,000 to $15,000, depending on batch sizes. Some Chinese distributors have initiated orders for the NVIDIA H20 at the upper limit of this range, but Huawei accelerators command slightly higher prices locally.
Server configurations featuring eight H20 accelerators are offered at a price 30% lower than similar systems based on last year’s H800. In terms of data transfer rates within the system, the NVIDIA H20 outperforms the Huawei Ascend B910B despite lagging in calculations speed for specific operations types.
The launch timeline in China of the L20 and L2 accelerators, compliant with NVIDIA’s updated export control requirements, is undisclosed by Reuters’ sources. Initially, all three solutions were slated for the Chinese market last quarter, but additional consultations with American regulators delayed the company’s plans.
