Chinese chipmakers aim to triple their production of chips for artificial intelligence (AI) applications in the country next year, according to the British business newspaper Financial Times, citing insiders.
This is China’s way of reducing its dependence on the American chipmaker Nvidia.
According to the newspaper, Huawei plans to begin production at a factory dedicated to AI chips by the end of this year. Two more facilities are expected to open in 2026. The factories are specifically intended to support Huawei, but it’s unclear who owns them. Huawei told the FT it has no plans to establish its own factories.
China’s largest chipmaker, SMIC, also reportedly plans to double its production capacity for 7-nanometer chips next year. Huawei and SMIC did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the FT.
Nvidia
The rumours come as American chipmaker Nvidia shares moderate revenue forecasts for the current quarter. The well-known AI chip manufacturer has seen strong growth in recent months, but that growth appears unsustainable at the current pace.
Inspired by
This is partly due to the Chinese market. Nvidia is struggling with, among other things, US export restrictions and counter-pressure from Beijing. Although the Trump administration recently eased restrictions on the export of some AI chips to China, this hasn’t yet translated into a rebound in sales.
China itself now appears to want to increase the counter-pressure by adding its own production capacity.
