Huawei announces 2027 launch for new AI chips targeting Nvidia

Huawei Technologies announced plans to launch two new artificial-intelligence chips, the 960DT and Ascend 960PR, in 2027. Rotating chairman David Wang unveiled the chips at a Shanghai summit, highlighting Huawei's UnifiedBus technology designed to link up to 1 million processors. Driven by U.S. export controls restricting China's access to Nvidia's advanced hardware, Huawei is positioning itself as a domestic alternative, having already shipped over 1,000 supernode systems to 370 customers.

Huawei 2027 AI chip launches

• ▪Huawei Technologies rotating chairman David Wang announced the upcoming 2027 artificial-intelligence chips, the 960DT and Ascend 960PR, at the company's annual summit in Shanghai on September 17, 2026
• ▪Huawei Technologies plans to launch two new artificial-intelligence semiconductors, the 960DT in the first quarter of 2027 and the Ascend 960PR in the third quarter of 2027

U.S. export controls on China

• ▪United States export controls have driven Chinese technology companies and policymakers to place greater emphasis on building domestic alternatives, helping Huawei Technologies emerge as a prominent supplier
• ▪United States export controls restrict China's access to advanced computing chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, including Nvidia's most advanced artificial-intelligence chips

UnifiedBus chip interconnect technology

• ▪Huawei Technologies has developed 11 semiconductors based on UnifiedBus technology, and its largest linked systems, called superclusters, can support up to 1 million artificial-intelligence processors
• ▪Huawei Technologies developed UnifiedBus technology to connect large numbers of artificial-intelligence chips, allowing them to share information and work together efficiently as a single computing system

Huawei AI customer shipments

• ▪Huawei Technologies has shipped more than 1,000 of its linked artificial-intelligence computing systems, known as supernodes, to more than 370 customers
• ▪Huawei Technologies' artificial-intelligence chip ecosystem has reached 5,270 monthly active developers to support its hardware usability

China-U.S. AI competition

• ▪Huawei Technologies is ramping up development of alternatives to Nvidia's artificial-intelligence computing systems to challenge Nvidia's dominant global market position
• ▪The United States and China are actively competing to develop the semiconductors, data centers, and software that underpin artificial intelligence

Debatable claims

• ▪US chip export controls are failing to contain Chinese AI development
• ▪Huawei's chip-clustering technology is a viable substitute for advanced US semiconductors