Huawei is gearing up to unveil its latest AI marvel, the Ascend 910C, as the chip is now in production and expectations are running high.
## TSMC and SMIC Join Forces for Huawei’s Ascend 910C—Goals Set for Massive AI Chip Shipments
The Chinese AI sector is currently undergoing a significant transformation, spurred by the introduction of models like DeepSeek’s R1, which have dramatically increased the demand for computational prowess. Among Chinese AI chipmakers, Huawei stands prominent, and with the introduction of its upcoming Ascend 910C chip, the stakes in the competitive landscape are definitely rising. According to insights shared by industry analyst @ohlennart, the specifics of the 910C have been outlined, and intriguingly, this chip poses a genuine challenge to NVIDIA’s H100 within the Chinese sphere.
Based on insights gathered and our findings, it’s evident that the Ascend 910C will carry a simpler architectural design compared to NVIDIA’s offerings. Huawei plans to use dual silicon interposers connected through an organic substrate, opting for a more conventional strategy. Essentially, the 910C is two Ascend 910B chips fused to elevate performance. Reports suggest that it will achieve 800 TFLOP/s at FP16 with a memory bandwidth reaching up to 3.2 TB/s, nearly rivaling the capabilities of the H100.
Using 7nm technology from both TSMC and SMIC, Huawei has ensured a robust manufacturing process. It appears that substantial orders were placed with TSMC ahead of export limitations taking effect, making the Taiwanese giant a key player in 910C’s production. Nonetheless, SMIC is also contributing, boasting impressive advancements in 7nm technology, with a projected monthly output of 50,000 wafers. This capacity will significantly support Huawei’s ambition to ship millions of these AI chips.
In the context of China’s domestic AI achievements, the Ascend 910C is certainly a noteworthy milestone. Despite Huawei trailing in global computing power metrics—around 10 to 20 times less than some competitors—firms like DeepSeek have demonstrated that there are innovative ways to bridge this gap or offset these limitations. With the depth of talent in China, the upcoming AI race promises to be fiercely competitive and full of potential surprises.
