Huawei is gearing up to roll out its latest AI powerhouse, the Ascend 910C, which has recently entered the production phase. This new chip promises to elevate the competitive landscape with its imminent release.
## Huawei’s Ascend 910C to Utilize TSMC/SMIC 7nm Process; Company Predicts Shipping ‘Millions’ of AI Chips
There’s an undeniable buzz surrounding the Chinese AI scene, dubbed by many as a technological renaissance. The introduction of models like DeepSeek’s R1 has sparked an unprecedented demand for enhanced computing capabilities within the region. Among the Chinese AI chip producers, Huawei shines brightly, especially as the Ascend 910C gears up to enter the market. Insights from industry analyst @ohlennart suggest that this chip might just be giving NVIDIA’s H100 a run for its money in China.
Huawei’s strategy with the Ascend 910C seems to be a bit more straightforward than NVIDIA’s approach. The design involves two separate silicon components linked through an organic substrate—essentially a coupling of two Ascend 910B chips to boost overall performance. This design is projected to achieve an impressive 800 TFLOP/s at FP16 and deliver memory bandwidth topping 3.2 TB/s, nearly matching the capabilities of the H100.
A critical piece of the manufacturing puzzle is Huawei’s reliance on 7nm technology procured from both TSMC and SMIC. Huawei had placed significant 7nm orders with TSMC ahead of any export limitations, which means a substantial chunk of the Ascend 910C units will be fabricated using TSMC’s technology. Nevertheless, SMIC is also contributing, having made strides in 7nm with an expected monthly output of 50,000 wafers—sufficient for Huawei’s plan to deliver “millions” of these AI chips.
The unveiling of the Ascend 910C holds great promise within China’s AI ecosystem. While it marks a substantial leap forward domestically, globally, Huawei still trails behind with a power gap of about 10-20 times compared to other titans. However, companies like DeepSeek illustrate that innovation doesn’t solely depend on raw computing power. With China’s wealth of talent, the forthcoming AI race is set to be more intense than ever.
