News

According to sources familiar with procurement talks, demand for NVIDIA's China-specific AI chip, the RTX6000D, has been lukewarm, with some major tech companies opting not to place orders.

The RTX6000D, primarily designed for AI inference tasks, is reportedly priced higher than its capabilities justify. Sample tests indicate its performance trails the RTX5090—a model currently banned in China—that costs less than half of the RTX6000D's roughly ¥50,000 price tag.

Earlier this month, insiders also noted that Chinese tech giants such as Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance are waiting for clarity on NVIDIA's H20 chip orders. The U.S. company regained sales approval for the H20 chip in July but has yet to resume shipments. These companies are also hoping Washington will approve NVIDIA's more powerful B30A chip.

All three models are downgraded versions of chips sold outside China, developed to comply with U.S. export restrictions aimed at slowing China's technological progress and maintaining American leadership in AI.

The tepid demand for the RTX6000D contrasts with upbeat analyst forecasts. Last month, JPMorgan projected RTX6000D production at about 1.5 million units for the second half of the year, while Morgan Stanley predicted 2 million units in July.

A source also revealed that NVIDIA began shipping the RTX6000D this week.