Huawei Showcases Chip and Computing Ambitions Amid Nvidia's Antitrust Challenges

TradingKey - At Huawei's Connect conference held on September 18, Xu Zhijun, Huawei's Deputy Chairman and Rotating Chairman, unveiled the company's core computing strategy for future artificial intelligence (AI).

From the new Ascend chips, SuperNodes, Kunpeng CPUs, to the newly developed interconnect architecture Lingqu, Huawei is positioning itself as a direct competitor to NVIDIA.

The Ascend chip series roadmap now extends to 2028. The company plans to release multiple new products over the next three years: Ascend 950PR is expected in Q1 2026, Ascend 950DT is scheduled for Q4 of the same year, Ascend 960 will be released in Q4 2027, and Ascend 970 is set to debut in Q4 2028.

“Computing power was the key to artificial intelligence in the past, and it will remain so in the future – especially for China’s AI development,” Xu said in the speech.

He also announced a new SuperNode based on the Ascend 950 chip, claiming it will become the world's strongest SuperNode, even surpassing NVIDIA's NVL576 system expected to launch in 2027.

He also stated that the more powerful Atlas 960 SuperPoD, with computing capacity scaling to 15,488 cards, is planned for release in Q4 2027.

Xu noted that SuperNodes are becoming the new norm for AI infrastructure construction, with Huawei's CloudMatrix 384 SuperNode having been deployed in over 300 installations serving more than 20 customers.

Building upon SuperNodes, Huawei has further constructed larger-scale computing clusters—Atlas 950 SuperCluster (with computing capacity exceeding 500,000 cards) and Atlas 960 SuperCluster (reaching one million cards) — which Huawei claims are "undoubtedly the world's strongest computing clusters."

Xu candidly admitted, "There is a gap between our single chip and NVIDIA's, but through long-term investment in interconnection technology, the SuperNodes we've built can become the strongest in the world, serving as a solid guarantee to support computing demands in China and worldwide."

"Huawei is leveraging its strengths in networking, along with China's advantages in power supply, to aggressively push supernodes and offset lagging chip manufacturing," said Wang Shen, data center infrastructure practice lead at tech research firm Omdia.

Regarding Kunpeng CPUs, Kunpeng 950 is expected in Q4 2026, while Kunpeng 960 is scheduled for Q1 2028.

The company also unveiled its new interconnect architecture "Lingqu," which is the key technology supporting the high performance of its SuperNodes.

While he cautioned that Huawei might exaggerate its technical capabilities, Chen pointed out that the Chinese company’s ambition to be a world AI leader “cannot be underestimated.”

Xu's statements come as China launches an antitrust investigation against NVIDIA and demands tech giants halt testing and ordering of NVIDIA's RTX Pro 6000D product.

This creates a larger vacuum in the Chinese market, providing opportunities for domestic chip manufacturers like Huawei and Cambricon to fill the gap.

On Beijing’s new stance, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on Wednesday that he was “disappointed with what I see, but they have larger agendas to work out between China and the United States, and I’m patient about it”.

He had previously described Huawei as a "powerful" competitor.