Overview
- Chinese tech firms have placed orders exceeding 2 million H200 units for 2026, far outpacing Nvidia’s roughly 700,000 chips in inventory, including some GH200 superchips, according to Reuters.
- Nvidia has asked TSMC to expand H200 production with work expected to begin in the second quarter of 2026, a move that could tighten global AI chip supplies, Reuters reported.
- Chinese regulators have yet to authorize H200 imports and are weighing conditions such as requiring purchase justifications or bundling with domestic chips, while the U.S. is permitting licensed sales with a 25% fee.
- Nvidia plans to fulfill an initial batch from existing stock before the Lunar New Year, contingent on U.S. licensing and Chinese approval.
- Pricing discussed with Chinese customers is about $27,000 per chip, with eight-GPU systems around 1.5 million yuan, and ByteDance is reportedly budgeting about 100 billion yuan for 2026 purchases if allowed.