Huawei's Ascend 910D Chip: A Threat to Nvidia's AI Dominance

Published On Wed Apr 30 2025
Huawei's Ascend 910D Chip: A Threat to Nvidia's AI Dominance

The End of Nvidia's Dominance? Huawei's New AI Chip Could Be a Game-Changer

Wall Street Journal reports that Huawei Technologies is preparing to test its most advanced artificial intelligence chip, the Ascend 910D, aiming to directly challenge Nvidia’s dominance in AI hardware.

Huawei has already started reaching out to Chinese tech companies for early testing of the Ascend 910D’s capabilities, with the initial batches of the chip expected to be shipped by late May.

Challenging Nvidia's Dominance

Insiders familiar with the matter believe that Huawei's Ascend 910D chip could potentially outperform Nvidia’s powerful H100 chip, which has been a popular choice for AI training in China. This move signifies a significant milestone in China's efforts towards achieving tech self-sufficiency.

Photo by BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash

Advancements in AI Technology

Previous iterations of Huawei Ascend chips, such as the 910B and 910C, failed to match up to Nvidia’s top-tier products. However, Huawei has been rapidly scaling up its efforts by developing powerful AI clusters like CloudMatrix 384 to directly compete against Nvidia's latest server technologies.

The leading generative AI companies

Despite facing challenges such as global supply chain constraints and limited access to cutting-edge manufacturing technologies, Huawei has displayed innovation by creatively engineering solutions, such as leveraging older HBM2 memory technology, to continue progressing in the AI hardware space.

Redefining the Global AI Chip Landscape

If the Ascend 910D lives up to expectations, it has the potential to redefine the balance of power in the global AI chip market and reduce China's reliance on major players from Silicon Valley.

The continuous advancements made by Huawei highlight the company's shift from playing catch-up to becoming a frontrunner in the AI hardware industry.