Huawei's Ascend 910C AI Chip: A Rising Competitor to NVIDIA's H100?

The AI chip market is heating up, with Chinese tech giant Huawei making strides in challenging NVIDIA's dominance. Recent reports suggest that Huawei's Ascend 910C, an enhanced version of its 2019 AI chip, is demonstrating impressive inference capabilities, reaching 60% of NVIDIA's H100 performance. This development signals China's growing strength in AI technology, amidst ongoing US restrictions.

Ascend 910C: Key Specs and Performance

According to reports, the Ascend 910C is indigenously designed and manufactured using SMIC's 7nm N+2 process.

• Transistor Count: 53 billion
• Manufacturing: SMIC's 7nm N+2 process
• Packaging: Chiplet packaging (compute chiplet produced by SMIC)
• Performance: Achieves 60% of NVIDIA H100's inference performance.

This level of performance positions the Ascend 910C as a viable alternative for companies seeking alternatives to NVIDIA's high-end GPUs.

Inference vs. Training: Where Does Huawei Stand?

While the Ascend 910C shows promise in AI inference, it reportedly faces challenges in AI training. Inference refers to the process of using a trained AI model to make predictions, while training involves teaching the model to learn from data.

Jin Yuchen from DeepSeek noted that Chinese chips still struggle with long-term training reliability. This is primarily due to NVIDIA's well-established CUDA ecosystem, which offers comprehensive software and hardware integration honed over two decades. While inference can be optimized, Huawei needs to further refine its hardware and software to handle sustained training tasks effectively.

Despite the current limitations in AI Training, Huawei is making significant progress closing the efficiency gap. You can read more about Huawei's advancements and its implications for the broader semiconductor industry in this article about Huawei Rumored to Launch New High-End AI Chip, Potentially Rivaling NVIDIA’s H100.

The Geopolitical Landscape

These technological advancements occur within a complex geopolitical landscape. The US government has been scrutinizing whether DeepSeek obtained NVIDIA chips through indirect channels, highlighting the tensions surrounding AI technology access. Furthermore, potential tariffs on chips could further reshape the competitive landscape and impact companies like NVIDIA. The US government is also placing export restrictions on advanced chips to China.

Key Takeaways:

• Huawei's Ascend 910C demonstrates China’s growing capabilities in designing and manufacturing AI chips.
• While excelling in inference tasks, challenges remain in achieving sustained reliability for AI training.
• Geopolitical factors, including US restrictions and potential tariffs, significantly influence the AI chip market.

China's Pursuit of AI Independence

The development of chips like the Ascend 910C underscores China's ambition to reduce reliance on foreign technology, particularly in critical areas like AI. This push for self-sufficiency is fueled by both technological aspirations and geopolitical considerations. As China continues to invest in its domestic semiconductor industry, we can anticipate further advancements that could reshape the global AI landscape. Be sure to check out this article to learn more about Huawei Reportedly Begins Sampling of Ascend 910C to Rival NVIDIA.

External Resources:

• For more details on the Ascend 910C's specs, refer to Tom's Hardware's analysis.
• Stay updated on the US investigation into DeepSeek via Bloomberg's report.