To put that into some perspective, that’s nearly a third of what it shifted last year and suggests Nvidia is trying to get ahead of any fresh US meddling.
Built on TSMC’s N4 node, which is part of its 5nm process family, the H20 chip is tailored for the Chinese market and runs on Nvidia’s Hopper architecture. It was specifically tweaked to dodge Washington’s previous export tantrums. But even this silicon tap-dance isn’t enough to get the chips into China without Uncle Sam’s blessing.
Nvidia is keeping schtum on whether the order has been confirmed or where its licence application currently stands. TSMC, likewise isn’t spilling the beans, citing its usual “no comment on market rumours” mantra. The US Department of Commerce, predictably, had nothing to say to Reuters either.
If the numbers are right, this could bring Nvidia’s H20 stockpile to 700,000 units, up from the 600,000 already collecting dust. The move would reverse Nvidia’s earlier stance that it wouldn’t restart production and would rely on existing inventory. Clearly, someone at the top realised that wasn’t going to cut it.
Back in April, the Trump-era ban slammed the brakes on H20 shipments to China. That block was lifted in July, allowing Nvidia to sell again, but not without a fresh round of paperwork. Nvidia has asked customers in the mainland to cough up detailed forecasts and documentation to help grease the wheels in Washington.
Nvidia supremo Jensen Huang, while in Beijing, hinted that production might resume if the orders started piling up. He admitted it would take around nine months to properly kick the supply chain back into gear. Not long after, US tech site The Information claimed Nvidia told its customers it had no immediate plans to resume H20 production.
Before Washington had its anti-China chip strop, mainland heavyweights like Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance were throwing money at H20 chips to power their AI toys. The rumoured re-up with TSMC suggests they’re back at the trough.
TSMC chairman Wei Zhejia previously told investors that the lifting of the ban was “good news” and that happy customers make a happy foundry. If Nvidia’s chasing chips again, the legal types believe it’ll be a nice little boost to TSMC’s books.
Of course, none of it matters if the US government keeps dragging its feet. For now, Nvidia’s H20 dreams are once again hostage to red tape and silicon politics.
