Huawei's AI semiconductor output limited to 200,000 in 2025, US commerce official says
Huawei Technologies is expected to ship no more than 200,000 of its advanced artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors this year, according to a senior Trump administration official overseeing US export controls, who estimated that 'most or all of' those chips would be supplied to enterprises within China.
That figure would pale in comparison to the more than 1 million China-specific H20 graphics processing units (GPUs) produced by
Nvidia in the last nine months of 2024, according to a January report from US research firm SemiAnalysis. Washington in April added the H20 to
tightened tech export restrictions on China.
At a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing on Thursday, Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security
Jeffrey Kessler told lawmakers that the US government should not 'take too much comfort from' Huawei's estimated 2025 Ascend chip production capacity being 'at or below 200,000' units. He did not elaborate on the source of that assessment.
'China is investing huge amounts to increase its AI chip production, as well as the capabilities of the chips it produces,' Kessler said. 'So it's critical for us not to have a false sense of security to understand that China is catching up quickly.'
At the congressional hearing, Kessler called for increased funding for US export control measures under the Bureau of Industry and Security.
This marked the first time a US government official publicly provided an estimate of Huawei's AI chip output, as the
US-sanctioned Chinese firm closely guards details of its Ascend semiconductor technology, development and production.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
14 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Trump and Putin discuss Israel-Iran tensions: ‘dangerous escalation'
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump held a 50-minute phone call on Saturday to discuss the escalating situation in the Middle East and Ukraine peace talks, Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said. During the conversation, Putin briefed Trump on his recent talks with the leaders of Iran and Israel and reiterated Russia's proposal to seek mutually acceptable solutions on the Iranian nuclear issue. 'The dangerous escalation of the situation in the Middle East was naturally at the centre of the exchange of opinions,' Ushakov told journalists following the conversation between Putin and Trump. 'Vladimir Putin, having condemned the military operation against Iran, expressed serious concern about the possible escalation of the conflict,' he said, warning of 'unpredictable consequences for the entire situation in the Middle East'. Putin also emphasised Russia's readiness to carry out possible mediation efforts and noted that Russia had proposed steps 'aimed at finding mutually acceptable agreements' during US-Iran negotiations on the Iranian nuclear programme. 'Russia's principled approach and interest in the settlement remain unchanged,' Ushakov said.
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Minnesota former house speaker and husband killed in political shooting
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said former state House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed in a politically motivated assassination. A second lawmaker and his wife were shot and wounded. 'We must all, in Minnesota and across the country, stand against all forms of political violence,' Walz said at a press conference on Saturday. 'Those responsible for this will be held accountable.' The wounded lawmaker was identified as state Sen. John Hoffman, a Democrat, was first elected in 2012. He runs Hoffman Strategic Advisors, a consulting firm. He previously served as vice chair of the Anoka-Hennepin School Board, which manages the largest school district in Minnesota. Hoffman is married and has one daughter. Hortman was the top House Democratic leader in the state Legislature and a former House speaker. She was first elected in 2004. Both Hoffman and Hortman represented districts located north of Minneapolis. Drew Evans, superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said that authorities were actively searching for a suspect. Officials said the suspect was dressed as a law enforcement officer.
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Misuse of AI risks harming public confidence in the justice system
The risks of relying on artificial intelligence for research, without verifying the results, should by now be clear to all, almost three years after the groundbreaking launch of ChatGPT. Lawyers using generative AI tools to prepare material for court should be setting a shining example. But judges around the world, from Britain to the US, Canada and Australia, continue to be presented with arguments based on non-existent court judgments generated by AI. More needs to be done to prevent such abuses. Hong Kong is not immune to the problem. Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok used a ceremony for three new senior counsel to sound a warning last weekend. He said the city's legal profession faced the challenge of adopting new technology without compromising integrity. Lam then quoted from a UK court judgment delivered the previous day. The court had warned that AI tools are 'not capable of conducting reliable legal research'. Dame Victoria Sharp, one of two judges ruling in the case of Ayinde, pointed out that AI's 'apparently coherent and plausible responses' may be entirely incorrect or simply untrue.
