Huawei To Ramp Up AI Chip Production In 2026

Huawei is gearing up to nearly double production of its Ascend 910C AI chip in 2026, a move aimed at easing China's dependence on Nvidia NVDA after U.S. restrictions curbed shipments. Bloomberg reported the company wants to churn out about 600,000 units next year with the help of state-backed foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International in Shanghai.

Chinese tech firms like Alibaba BABA and DeepSeek are eager for homegrown alternatives. Nvidia sold about 1 million H20 chips to China in 2024, but that pipeline has now shut. On Nvidia's latest earnings call, CFO Colette Kress confirmed the outlook includes zero H20 shipments to China, while CEO Jensen Huang described the Chinese AI market as a $50 billion opportunity this year alone and one that could grow 50% annually. He also noted that nearly half of the world's AI researchers are in China, underscoring its importance.

Huawei isn't stopping at the 910C. It's planning follow-up chips the 950, 960 and 970 to roll out through 2028. But the technology gap remains stark: the upcoming Ascend 950 is expected to deliver just 6% of the performance of Nvidia's VR200.