Huawei Targets $12 Billion AI Chip Revenue in 2026 as Nvidia's China Share Falls to 0%
Updated
Updated · Tom's Hardware · May 5
Huawei Targets $12 Billion AI Chip Revenue in 2026 as Nvidia's China Share Falls to 0%
2 articles · Updated · Tom's Hardware · May 5
$12 billion in 2026 AI chip revenue is Huawei's projection, up from $7.5 billion last year on orders already booked from Alibaba, ByteDance and Tencent.
DeepSeek's V4 model helped drive that surge by optimizing for Huawei's Ascend chips and CANN software, pushing Chinese cloud providers to deploy quickly and lifting 950PR prices about 20%.
Nvidia's China AI accelerator share has collapsed to 0%, Jensen Huang said, after U.S. export controls and Beijing's domestic-use rules left even licensed H200 shipments stuck.
750,000 Ascend 950PR units are Huawei's production target for this year, but SMIC's limited yields, roughly eight-month cycle times and uncertain HBM ramp could still constrain supply.
China's AI chip market could reach $67 billion by 2030, with Huawei gaining from a fast split between domestic and foreign suppliers while it readies the training-focused 950DT for Q4.
U.S. sanctions aimed to cripple Huawei. How did they instead make it China's undisputed AI chip champion in three years?
With Huawei's ecosystem rising in China, is the global AI industry permanently splitting into two incompatible technology spheres?
While the US restricts China's AI chips, are its own power grid shortages the bigger threat to American AI dominance?
Huawei Captures 60% of China’s AI Chip Market as Nvidia’s Share Plummets to Zero: The 2026 Bifurcation of Global AI Hardware
Overview
China's AI chip market is rapidly changing as U.S. export controls force Nvidia to retreat, despite the company receiving licenses and restarting production of its H200 chips for Chinese customers. Complex Chinese import regulations and conflicting government demands have stalled Nvidia's shipments, causing its market share to plummet. In this environment, Huawei has quickly risen as the leading domestic player, capturing the opportunity created by Nvidia's setbacks. This shift highlights how U.S. policies are accelerating China's drive for self-sufficiency in AI hardware, fundamentally reshaping the competitive landscape and fueling the growth of local technology champions.