Nvidia, it was reported, is preparing to give the China market another go after the Trump administration blocked sales of its H20 processor there in early April. But a supplier's announcement was subsequently retracted.
Shenzhen, China-based ZJK Industrial had announced early Thursday that it is ramping up production to meet growing demand for "Nvidia's B40 project." (Update: The Chinese firm late Thursday said "journalists and other readers should disregard the news release".)
The B40 chip is a customized AI accelerator designed specifically for the Chinese market, ZJK said in the since-retracted news release. The chip is based on Nvidia's Blackwell architecture and targets the mid-to-high-end market segment, with mass production planned to start as early as this month, ZJK said.
In a statement, Nvidia said it is still locked out of China's AI data center market. It did not comment on the B40, a product the company has not announced.
"We are still evaluating our limited options. Until we settle on a new product design and receive approval from the U.S. government, we are effectively foreclosed from China's $50 billion data center market," an Nvidia spokesperson said.
On Thursday, Nvidia stock dropped 1.4% to close at 139.99. Meanwhile, ZJK stock jumped 12% to close at 5.40.
Nvidia's previous artificial intelligence processor for the Chinese market was based on the company's prior-generation Hopper series. But the U.S. government banned the sale of the H20 chip for security reasons.
On a May 28 conference call with analysts, Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang said the company was exploring options to reenter the China market.
But apparently ZJK broke the news of the new processor for Chinese customers.
Nvidia Stock Is Near A Buy Point
ZJK makes precision fasteners and other metal parts for a variety of industries, including electronic equipment, vehicles, aerospace, energy storage systems, medical and liquid cooling systems used in AI supercomputers.
"The B40 project presents several compelling market advantages," ZJK Chief Executive Ning Ding said in the news release. "It complements Nvidia's RTX Pro 6000 workstation graphics cards currently being sold worldwide. According to supply chain forecasts, B40 chip shipments are expected to exceed one million units by the end of 2025."
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