Huawei is gearing up to launch its next major AI accelerator, the Ascend 910C, as news breaks that the chip has moved into production and we now have a clearer picture of what it will offer.
Huawei is making waves in the Chinese AI scene with the Ascend 910C, which uses the 7nm process technology from both TSMC and SMIC. The company plans to ship massive quantities of these AI chips, setting the stage for significant competition.
No doubt, the tech landscape in China is experiencing a remarkable transformation, and the rise in demand for more computing power, fueled by developments like DeepSeek’s R1 model, is undeniable. Among all the AI chipmakers in China, Huawei is definitely a standout, especially with its forthcoming Ascend 910C chips, which are expected to intensify market competition. Analysis shared by Lennart Heim on Twitter reveals fascinating insights into the 910C chip, suggesting that it could pose a genuine threat to NVIDIA’s H100 in China’s market.
A Twitter post from March 11, 2025, provides further details:
“Huawei’s next AI accelerator—the Ascend 910C—is entering production. It’s China’s best AI chip. Thanks to backdoor sourcing, we could easily see 1M H100-equiv this year. Here’s what we know about its performance and strategic implications. Spoiler: selectively competitive.”
Drawing from this information and our independent sources, it’s clear that the 910C won’t be as intricate as NVIDIA’s designs. Huawei plans to use two separate silicon interposers connected by an organic substrate, a more traditional architecture. Essentially, it integrates two Ascend 910B chips to achieve higher combined performance. It’s reported that the 910C will deliver an impressive 800 TFLOP/s at FP16 with up to 3.2 TB/s memory bandwidth, placing it almost on par with the H100.
An image accompanying the original post additionally highlights the significance of this chip in the AI market.
Huawei is tapping into 7nm technology from both TSMC and SMIC to power the Ascend 910C. The company had previously secured substantial 7nm orders from TSMC before facing export restrictions, ensuring a significant portion of production will be fulfilled by this Taiwanese giant. Meanwhile, China’s SMIC is also contributing to the effort, with its successful 7nm production ramping up to a projected 50,000 wafers per month, which should meet Huawei’s ambitious target of shipping “millions” of AI chips.
Considering China’s domestic strides in AI computing, the Ascend 910C represents a notable advancement and a positive direction. Yet, on the global stage, Huawei lags behind the leading players in computing power by a factor of 10 to 20. Still, innovative firms like DeepSeek illustrate that it’s possible to excel despite limitations, leveraging China’s tech talent to fuel an increasingly competitive AI arena.
