Reuters: Chinese Firms Rush to Order Huawei AI Chips Following DeepSeek V4 Release

Beijing, April 29 (CNA/Reuters) — Three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that major Chinese internet companies are rushing to place orders for Huawei's Ascend 950 series AI chips following the recent launch of DeepSeek-V4, a new artificial intelligence model from the Chinese startup DeepSeek that is optimized to run on Huawei silicon.

According to Reuters, informed sources revealed that tech giants including ByteDance, Tencent, and Alibaba are in contact with Huawei to discuss procurement of the new chips. Two sources added that companies specializing in cloud computing and GPU leasing services are also actively seeking Huawei chips, though specific company names were not disclosed.

Reuters noted that while Huawei's 950 series chips significantly outperform Nvidia's H20 chips, they still trail behind Nvidia's more advanced H200 chips, which are currently subject to regulatory uncertainty. The H20 was previously the most powerful chip Nvidia was allowed to sell to China, but Beijing imposed restrictions on its import last year.

Although both the US and China have approved the export of H200 chips, disagreements between Beijing and Washington over sales conditions mean these chips have not yet been sold to Chinese firms, creating a significant sales window for Huawei's semiconductor products.

The scramble for Huawei chips highlights the demand for localized AI hardware driven by the release of DeepSeek-V4 last week, especially as US export controls continue to limit Chinese firms' access to Nvidia's cutting-edge products. It also serves as a market validation of Huawei's chip performance.

DeepSeek's decision to specifically optimize its V4 model for Huawei chips marks a strategic pivot away from reliance on US semiconductors toward domestic AI hardware, echoing Beijing's primary goal of pursuing technological dominance. DeepSeek stated that once Huawei's Ascend 950 supernodes begin large-scale shipping, its V4-Pro model is expected to see significant price reductions in the second half of this year.

However, DeepSeek also acknowledged that supply constraints for high-end domestic AI chips will remain until production capacity is scaled up, reflecting the current tight supply situation in the Chinese market.