Nvidia has reportedly halted production of its H20 artificial intelligence chip designed for the Chinese market, days after separate reporting suggested a more powerful replacement is in development. According to Quartz, citing The Information, the chip designer informed certain suppliers to stop work on the H20 this week.
Production pause and recent scrutiny
Quartz reported that Nvidia told suppliers including Amkor Technology and Samsung Electronics to halt production of the H20. The pause comes roughly a month after China’s Cyberspace Administration raised security concerns about alleged „backdoors“ in the H20 chips, as reported by CNBC and referenced by Quartz.
Nvidia’s shares have fallen 1.9% over the last five days, Quartz noted. The H20 was introduced as a lower-spec alternative to Nvidia’s flagship GPUs, intended to align with tightened U.S. chip export rules put in place last year, according to the Quartz report.
Reports of a new chip for China
On Tuesday, Reuters reported that Nvidia is working on a new AI chip for China that is more powerful than the H20. Quartz said the product is tentatively called the B30A and is thought to be based on Nvidia’s Blackwell architecture, according to Reuters.
Policy backdrop and comments
Quartz recapped recent U.S. policy shifts impacting Nvidia’s China business. In April, the U.S. Commerce Department banned Nvidia from selling its H20 chips to China, citing “national and economic security.” The Trump administration reversed that ban in July, Quartz reported.
When asked about the new chip in a CNBC interview, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick did not rule out allowing Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to sell a more powerful product to China, Quartz noted. “Of course, he would like to sell a new chip to China,” Lutnick said. “I’ve listened to him pitch the president, and the president listens to our great technology companies, and he’ll decide how he wants to play.”
Quartz attributed its report to The Information for the production pause and to Reuters for details on the prospective B30A chip, framing the H20 suspension alongside ongoing regulatory scrutiny and evolving U.S. policy.
