Nvidia's H20 Chips: Silent Supply Saga Amid Performance Puzzle
1min read Recent developments have highlighted a brewing issue within the semiconductor industry, as reports indicate that some companies are unable to place orders for Nvidia's H20 chips. According to industry insiders, Nvidia has ceased accepting H20 orders since last month, although no formal announcement has been made. Another source within the AI sector corroborated these claims, confirming the recent difficulties in ordering the H20 chips.
The H20, a variant developed specifically for the Chinese market, aims to align with U.S. export regulations. Although rumors of its discontinuation persist, Nvidia reportedly continues negotiations. Meanwhile, various firms have reported significant arrivals of H20 units this year, surpassing the anticipated annual delivery target of 400,000 units.
Despite these challenges, Nvidia has so far remained silent on the issue. The H20's performance is approximately one-sixth of the H100, yet its price does not reflect substantial reductions, leading to concerns over its value proposition.
SemiAnalysis commented that although the H20, along with L20 and L2, retains many of Nvidia's AI functionalities, the performance has been scaled back to comply with new regulations. Nevertheless, these models are reported to perform 20% faster than the H100 in large language model inferences.