Huawei is gearing up to unveil its latest AI accelerator, the Ascend 910C, which promises to make a significant splash in the market soon. Now that the chip has entered the production stage, we have some intriguing details about what it will bring to the table.
The Chinese AI industry is undergoing a remarkable transformation. With cutting-edge models like DeepSeek’s R1 emerging, there’s a skyrocketing demand for enhanced computing prowess. Amidst all the AI chip makers in China, Huawei is making waves, and their upcoming Ascend 910C is set to intensify the competition. Analyst @LennartHeim provided insights into the features of the 910C chip, suggesting that NVIDIA’s H100 could soon face a formidable contender in China.
A recent Tweet from March 2025 by Lennart Heim highlights the Ascend 910C’s entry into production, lauding it as China’s premier AI chip. He speculates that backdoor sourcing might see up to a million units of H100-equivalent chips this year, and teases some strategic insights about its performance.
The Ascend 910C differentiates itself from NVIDIA’s more complex designs by employing a relatively straightforward approach. It uses two Ascend 910B chips linked via silicon interposers and an organic substrate, aligning more with traditional methods. This design choice seemingly allows the 910C to reach impressive performance metrics: 800 TFLOP/s at FP16 and a memory bandwidth of up to 3.2 TB/s, nearly matching the H100.
Huawei’s strategy involves leveraging 7nm process technology from both TSMC and SMIC. Prior to export restrictions, Huawei secured substantial 7nm orders from TSMC, which plays a major role in this chip’s production. Nonetheless, SMIC, having honed its 7nm capabilities, also contributes significantly, with an anticipated monthly wafer output of around 50,000. This production volume is crucial as Huawei aims to roll out “millions” of its AI chips.
When you consider the advancements in China’s AI landscape, the Ascend 910C is undeniably a leap forward. Despite this, on the global stage, Huawei still lags behind global giants by a significant margin in computing power. Yet, as firms like DeepSeek have demonstrated, creative solutions can offset these limitations. Given the pool of Chinese talent, the upcoming race in AI will undoubtedly be fiercely competitive.
