Latest news with #Sophgo
CNA
14-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
US warns against use of Huawei Ascend AI chips 'anywhere', says it violates export controls
SINGAPORE: The United States' Department of Commerce on Tuesday (May 13) issued new guidelines which state that the use of Huawei's Ascend AI chips "anywhere in the world" violates the country's export controls. The department's Bureau of Industry and Security also warned of the "potential consequences" of allowing US AI chips to be used for training Chinese AI models. The training process for AI models involves providing them with data to learn patterns, while inference is when the trained models apply that knowledge to new data and make predictions or generate outputs. US companies will be guided how to protect supply chains against diversion tactics in a bid to strengthen export controls for overseas AI chips, the bureau said. These actions "ensure that the United States will remain at the forefront of AI innovation and maintain global AI dominance", it added. Huawei's Ascend 910B is viewed as the most advanced AI chip available from a Chinese company. But sources said in October last year that China-based chip designer Sophgo had ordered chips from TSMC that matched the one found on Huawei's Ascend 910B, prompting the suspension of shipments. In April, Nvidia said it would take US$5.5 billion in charges after the US government limited exports of its H20 artificial intelligence chip to China, a key market for one of its most popular chips. The US, however, rescinded further export controls on Tuesday on advanced computing semiconductors, answering calls by countries that said they were being shut out from crucial technology needed to develop artificial intelligence. The so-called "AI diffusion rule," set to take effect on Wednesday, was part of a series of actions taken by then-President Joe Biden just before leaving office in January that sought to make it harder for Beijing to access advanced technology. The rule divided the world's countries into three tiers, with each tier having its own level of restrictions. Top tier countries, like Japan and South Korea, would have continued to face no export restrictions, while Tier 2 regions, which included countries like Mexico and Portugal, would have seen a cap on the amount of chips they could receive. Some US lawmakers feared the cap would have incentivised countries to go to China for AI chips, spurring the superpower's development of state-of-the-art technology. Chipmakers, including Nvidia and AMD, lobbied against the tiered restrictions and saw their share prices rise last week when the Trump administration indicated it would rethink the rule. The AI Diffusion Rule would have undermined US diplomatic relations with dozens of countries by downgrading them to second-tier status, the US Commerce Department said. Washington has expanded its efforts in recent years to curb exports of state-of-the-art chips to China, concerned that these can be used to advance Beijing's military systems and otherwise undermine American dominance in AI. "The Trump Administration will pursue a bold, inclusive strategy to share American AI technology with trusted foreign countries around the world, while keeping the technology out of the hands of our adversaries," said Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Jeffrey Kessler. Kessler criticised the previous administration's approach, adding: "We reject the Biden administration's attempt to impose its own ill-conceived and counterproductive AI policies on the American people." Biden's proposed rule aimed to avert any circumvention of chip supply to China from other countries. The US Commerce Department said the rule would have damaged American innovation and diplomatic relations with numerous countries that would have been "downgraded to second-tier status".
The Hindu
22-04-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Huawei readies new AI chip for mass shipment as China seeks Nvidia alternatives
Huawei Technologies plans to begin mass shipments of its advanced 910C artificial intelligence chip to Chinese customers as early as next month, two people familiar with the matter said. Some shipments have already been made, they added. The timing is fortuitous for Chinese AI companies which have been left scrambling for domestic alternatives to the H20, the primary AI chip that Nvidia had until recently been allowed to sell freely in the Chinese market. This month, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration told Nvidia that sales of the H20 would require an export licence. Huawei's 910C, a graphics processing unit (GPU), represents an architectural evolution rather than a technological breakthrough, according to one of the two people and a third source familiar with its design. It achieves performance comparable to Nvidia's H100 chip by combining two 910B processors into a single package through advanced integration techniques, they said. That means it has double the computing power and memory capacity of the 910B and it also has incremental improvements, including enhanced support for diverse AI workload data, they added. All sources were not authorised to speak to media and declined to be identified. Huawei declined to comment on what it called speculation about shipment plans for the 910C and its capabilities. Seeking to limit China's technological development, particularly advances for its military, Washington has cut China off from Nvidia's most advanced AI products including its flagship B200 chip. The H100 chip, for example, was banned from sale in China in 2022 by U.S. authorities before it was even launched. This has allowed Huawei and Chinese GPU startups such as Moore Threads and Iluvatar CoreX to go after what has primarily been a market dominated by Nvidia. The U.S. Commerce Department's latest export curbs on Nvidia's H20 "will mean that Huawei's Ascend 910C GPU will now become the hardware of choice for (Chinese) AI model developers and for deploying inference capacity," said Paul Triolo, a partner at consulting firm Albright Stonebridge Group. Late last year, Huawei distributed samples of the 910C to several technology firms and started accepting orders, sources have said. Reuters was not able to ascertain which companies would be primarily producing the 910C. China's SMIC is manufacturing some main components of the GPUs using its N+2 7nm process technology although its chip yield rates are low, a source has previously said. At least some of Huawei's 910C GPUs use semiconductors that were made by TSMC for China-based Sophgo, according to one of the sources and a fourth person. The Commerce Department has been investigating work done by the Taiwanese contract chip manufacturing giant for Sophgo after one of its TSMC-made chips was found in a 910B processor. TSMC made nearly three million chips in recent years that matched the design ordered by Sophgo, according to Lennart Heim, a researcher at RAND's Technology and Security and Policy Center in Arlington, Virginia, who is tracking Chinese developments in AI. Huawei reiterated that it has not used TSMC-made Sophgo chips. Sophgo did not immediately respond to a request for comment. TSMC said it complies with regulatory requirements and it has not supplied Huawei since mid-September 2020.
Indian Express
22-04-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Huawei readies new AI chip for mass shipment as China seeks Nvidia alternatives
Huawei Technologies plans to begin mass shipments of its advanced 910C artificial intelligence chip to Chinese customers as early as next month, two people familiar with the matter said. Some shipments have already been made, they added. The timing is fortuitous for Chinese AI companies which have been left scrambling for domestic alternatives to the H20, the primary AI chip that Nvidia had until recently been allowed to sell freely in the Chinese market. This month, U.S. President Donald Trump 's administration told Nvidia that sales of the H20 would require an export licence. Huawei 's 910C, a graphics processing unit (GPU), represents an architectural evolution rather than a technological breakthrough, according to one of the two people and a third source familiar with its design. It achieves performance comparable to Nvidia's H100 chip by combining two 910B processors into a single package through advanced integration techniques, they said. That means it has double the computing power and memory capacity of the 910B and it also has incremental improvements, including enhanced support for diverse AI workload data, they added. All sources were not authorised to speak to media and declined to be identified. Huawei declined to comment on what it called speculation about shipment plans for the 910C and its capabilities. Seeking to limit China's technological development, particularly advances for its military, Washington has cut China off from Nvidia's most advanced AI products including its flagship B200 chip. The H100 chip, for example, was banned from sale in China in 2022 by U.S. authorities before it was even launched. This has allowed Huawei and Chinese GPU startups such as Moore Threads and Iluvatar CoreX to go after what has primarily been a market dominated by Nvidia. The U.S. Commerce Department's latest export curbs on Nvidia's H20 'will mean that Huawei's Ascend 910C GPU will now become the hardware of choice for (Chinese) AI model developers and for deploying inference capacity,' said Paul Triolo, a partner at consulting firm Albright Stonebridge Group. Late last year, Huawei distributed samples of the 910C to several technology firms and started accepting orders, sources have said. Reuters was not able to ascertain which companies would be primarily producing the 910C. China's SMIC is manufacturing some main components of the GPUs using its N+2 7nm process technology although its chip yield rates are low, a source has previously said. At least some of Huawei's 910C GPUs use semiconductors that were made by TSMC for China-based Sophgo, according to one of the sources and a fourth person. The Commerce Department has been investigating work done by the Taiwanese contract chip manufacturing giant for Sophgo after one of its TSMC-made chips was found in a 910B processor. TSMC made nearly three million chips in recent years that matched the design ordered by Sophgo, according to Lennart Heim, a researcher at RAND's Technology and Security and Policy Center in Arlington, Virginia, who is tracking Chinese developments in AI. Huawei reiterated that it has not used TSMC-made Sophgo chips. Sophgo did not immediately respond to a request for comment. TSMC said it complies with regulatory requirements and it has not supplied Huawei since mid-September 2020.
The Standard
21-04-2025
- Business
- The Standard
Huawei readies new AI chip for mass shipment as China seeks Nvidia alternatives, sources say
Huawei Technologies plans to begin mass shipments of its advanced 910C artificial intelligence chip to Chinese customers as early as next month, two people familiar with the matter said. Some shipments have already been made, they added. The timing is fortuitous for Chinese AI companies which have been left scrambling for domestic alternatives to the H20, the primary AI chip that Nvidia had until recently been allowed to sell freely in the Chinese market. This month, US President Donald Trump's administration told Nvidia that sales of the H20 would require an export licence. Huawei's 910C, a graphics processing unit (GPU), represents an architectural evolution rather than a technological breakthrough, according to one of the two people and a third source familiar with its design. It achieves performance comparable to Nvidia's H100 chip by combining two 910B processors into a single package through advanced integration techniques, they said. That means it has double the computing power and memory capacity of the 910B and it also has incremental improvements, including enhanced support for diverse AI workload data, they added. All sources were not authorised to speak to media and declined to be identified. Huawei declined to comment on what it called speculation about shipment plans for the 910C and its capabilities. Seeking to limit China's technological development, particularly advances for its military, Washington has cut China off from Nvidia's most advanced AI products including its flagship B200 chip. The H100 chip, for example, was banned from sale in China in 2022 by US authorities before it was even launched. This has allowed Huawei and Chinese GPU startups such as Moore Threads and Iluvatar CoreX to go after what has primarily been a market dominated by Nvidia. The US Commerce Department's latest export curbs on Nvidia's H20 "will mean that Huawei's Ascend 910C GPU will now become the hardware of choice for (Chinese) AI model developers and for deploying inference capacity," said Paul Triolo, a partner at consulting firm Albright Stonebridge Group. Late last year, Huawei distributed samples of the 910C to several technology firms and started accepting orders, sources have said. Reuters was not able to ascertain which companies would be primarily producing the 910C. China's SMIC (0981) is manufacturing some main components of the GPUs using its N+2 7nm process technology although its chip yield rates are low, a source has previously said. At least some of Huawei's 910C GPUs use semiconductors that were made by TSMC for China-based Sophgo, according to one of the sources and a fourth person. The Commerce Department has been investigating work done by the Taiwanese contract chip manufacturing giant for Sophgo after one of its TSMC-made chips was found in a 910B processor. TSMC made nearly three million chips in recent years that matched the design ordered by Sophgo, according to Lennart Heim, a researcher at RAND's Technology and Security and Policy Center in Arlington, Virginia, who is tracking Chinese developments in AI. Huawei reiterated that it has not used TSMC-made Sophgo chips. Sophgo did not immediately respond to a request for comment. TSMC said it complies with regulatory requirements and it has not supplied Huawei since mid-September 2020.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive-Huawei readies new AI chip for mass shipment as China seeks Nvidia alternatives, sources say
By Fanny Potkin and Che Pan SINGAPORE/BEIJING (Reuters) -Huawei Technologies plans to begin mass shipments of its advanced 910C artificial intelligence chip to Chinese customers as early as next month, two people familiar with the matter said. Some shipments have already been made, they added. The timing is fortuitous for Chinese AI companies which have been left scrambling for domestic alternatives to the H20, the primary AI chip that Nvidia had until recently been allowed to sell freely in the Chinese market. This month, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration told Nvidia that sales of the H20 would require an export licence. Huawei's 910C, a graphics processing unit (GPU), represents an architectural evolution rather than a technological breakthrough, according to one of the two people and a third source familiar with its design. It achieves performance comparable to Nvidia's H100 chip by combining two 910B processors into a single package through advanced integration techniques, they said. That means it has double the computing power and memory capacity of the 910B and it also has incremental improvements, including enhanced support for diverse AI workload data, they added. All sources were not authorised to speak to media and declined to be identified. Huawei did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Seeking to limit China's technological development, particularly advances for its military, Washington has cut China off from Nvidia's most advanced AI products including its flagship B200 chip. The H100 chip, for example, was banned from sale in China in 2022 by U.S. authorities before it was even launched. This has allowed Huawei and Chinese GPU startups such as Moore Threads and Iluvatar CoreX to go after what has primarily been a market dominated by Nvidia. The U.S. Commerce Department's latest export curbs on Nvidia's H20 "will mean that Huawei's Ascend 910C GPU will now become the hardware of choice for (Chinese) AI model developers and for deploying inference capacity," said Paul Triolo, a partner at consulting firm Albright Stonebridge Group. Late last year, Huawei distributed samples of the 910C to several technology firms and started accepting orders, sources have said. Reuters was not able to ascertain which companies would be primarily producing the 910C. China's SMIC is manufacturing some main components of the GPUs using its N+2 7nm process technology although its chip yield rates are low, a source has previously said. At least some of Huawei's 910Cs use chips that were made by Taiwanese contract chip manufacturing giant TSMC for China-based Sophgo, according to one of the sources and a fourth person. The Commerce Department has been investigating TSMC's work for Sophgo after one of its TSMC-made chips was found in a 910B processor. TSMC made nearly three million chips in recent years that matched the design ordered by Sophgo, according to Lennart Heim, a researcher at RAND's Technology and Security and Policy Center in Arlington, Virginia, who is tracking Chinese developments in AI. Sophgo did not immediately respond to a request for comment. TSMC said it complies with regulatory requirements and it has not supplied Huawei since mid-September 2020.
