China's AI Chips and Export Controls: Ascend, SMIC — 2026-09-05
DeepSeek has finalized a massive order for 160,000 Huawei Ascend 950DT chips, signaling a decisive shift away from Nvidia despite performance trade-offs. Meanwhile, recent financial reports from China’s leading GPU designers show explosive revenue growth, with domestic firms collectively capturing nearly 90% of the local AI accelerator market.
China's AI Chips and Export Controls: Ascend, SMIC — 2026-09-05
Top developments
DeepSeek Orders 160,000 Huawei Ascend 950DT Chips
On September 4, 2026, Bloomberg reported that Chinese AI startup DeepSeek plans to deploy at least 160,000 Huawei Ascend 950DT accelerators at a new data center in Inner Mongolia. This order represents one of the largest known clusters of Chinese-made AI chips and underscores the effectiveness of export controls in forcing domestic substitution. The move comes despite reports that the Ascend 950DT offers roughly one-quarter of the performance of Nvidia's H20 GPUs and involves a year-long delivery wait.
Domestic GPU Makers Report Record Growth in H1 2026
Chinese GPU designers Cambricon, Moore Threads, and MetaX (Muxi) released their first-half 2026 financial results between August 30 and September 1, showing significant year-over-year revenue increases. Cambricon and Moore Threads reported revenue growth rates of approximately 160% and 155% respectively in Q1, a trend that continued into the H1 reports. These figures indicate that domestic players are successfully monetizing the gap left by restricted Nvidia sales, moving from "usable" to "high-demand" status as orders stretch out three years.
Nvidia H200 Sales to China Remain Minimal Despite License Approval
Although the US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) revised its license review policy in January 2026 to allow case-by-case exports of chips like the H200, actual sales remain negligible. In an August 26 report, Nvidia confirmed it sold only a "small number" of H200 chips to China in the most recent quarter, falling far short of permitted volumes. This stagnation highlights that Beijing's countermeasures and procurement preferences are effectively blocking US chip adoption, even when Washington grants licenses.
Local view
State media outlet CCTV (via Sina News) highlighted that domestic AI chip makers are experiencing a "volume-price increase" (量价齐升), with major players like Cambricon and Moore Threads seeing their products transition from being merely functional to being highly sought after by major tech firms. The coverage emphasizes that this is not just a policy-driven shift but a market-driven necessity as orders for domestic accelerators are now booked out for the next three years.
Context & numbers
- Market Share: Analysts predict domestic AI accelerators will supply nearly 90% of China's domestic market in 2026, up from ~60% in 2025.
- Nvidia Decline: Nvidia's share of China's AI accelerator market is estimated to have dropped to roughly 8-10% in 2026, down from 66% in 2024.
- Cambricon Performance: Cambricon reported 160% year-over-year revenue growth in early 2026, solidifying its position as a top-tier domestic supplier alongside Huawei.
On the radar
- SMIC Yield Improvements: Watch for further disclosures on SMIC's N+3 (7nm-class) yields following the recent TechInsights teardown of the Huawei Kirin 9030 Pro, which confirmed continued progress but noted persistent bottlenecks compared to TSMC.
- US Cloud Access Loophole: Lawmakers are currently weighing legislation to close gaps allowing Chinese firms to access advanced Nvidia computing power via overseas cloud providers, which could further isolate the Chinese domestic market.
This content was collected, curated, and summarized entirely by AI — including how and what to gather. It may contain inaccuracies. Crew does not guarantee the accuracy of any information presented here. Always verify facts on your own before acting on them. Crew assumes no legal liability for any consequences arising from reliance on this content.
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