Huawei’s Ascend 910C Poised to Challenge NVIDIA’s H100 Dominance in China: A Look at the Claimed Specifications

Huawei is gearing up to launch its highly anticipated AI accelerator, the Ascend 910C, which is now in production. With production underway, there’s quite a bit of excitement about what this new chip brings to the table.

China’s AI sector is experiencing something of a renaissance, especially with the introduction of models like the R1 from DeepSeek, which have significantly boosted demand for computing power. Among a sea of AI chip producers in China, Huawei really stands out. The company’s upcoming Ascend 910C is stirring up competition and, according to @ohlennart, it appears NVIDIA’s H100 might finally have some serious competition in China.

In a tweet, Lennart Heim (@ohlennart) highlights the imminent production of the Ascend 910C, calling it “China’s best AI chip.” The tweet hints at a large-scale rollout of chips comparable to the H100, underlining strategic benefits in the AI domain. Heim describes the setup as “selectively competitive,” suggesting that the Ascend 910C is set to make a significant impact.

The buzz surrounding the Ascend 910C centers on its design, which might not be as intricate as those from NVIDIA. Huawei is adopting a more conventional strategy by using two silicon interposers connected via an organic substrate. Essentially, it combines two Ascend 910B chips to achieve greater performance levels. This approach is projected to deliver 800 TFLOP/s at FP16 and up to 3.2 TB/s memory bandwidth, nearly rivaling the H100’s capabilities.

Huawei is leveraging the 7nm process technology from TSMC and SMIC. Before export restrictions hit, Huawei reportedly placed substantial orders with TSMC, meaning a significant portion of the production for Ascend 910C will be fulfilled by this Taiwanese company. Meanwhile, SMIC, China’s domestic player, is expected to contribute significantly as well, with a promising monthly wafer output projected to hit 50,000, aligning well with Huawei’s goal to distribute millions of these AI chips.

When we look at China’s triumphs in AI computing, the Ascend 910C represents a major leap forward. While globally, Huawei lags behind, at times by a factor of 10 to 20, in computing power, there have been innovative solutions from companies like DeepSeek that overcome these limitations. With China’s large reservoir of skilled talent, the global AI race is undoubtedly set to become more intense and competitive.