Huawei is making waves in the tech industry by planning to extend its Ascend AI chips beyond China’s borders, potentially revolutionizing the global market for Chinese technologies.
Expanding Horizons: Huawei’s Strategic Plans
Huawei stands as a prominent figure in providing AI infrastructure on a global stage. Known for its extensive compute portfolio and production might, the firm has dominated the Chinese market, especially with its popular Ascend AI chips. With restrictions affecting NVIDIA’s AI hardware in China, Huawei aims to fill the gap by introducing its Ascend lineup to Korean enterprises, as reported by sources. This move intends to offer Korean companies a viable alternative to NVIDIA.
Huawei Korea plans to officially launch AI computing cards and AI data center-related solutions next year. We want to provide Korean companies with a second option other than NVIDIA.
The announcement by Huawei Korea’s CEO, Balian Wang, highlights that unlike NVIDIA, Huawei will exclusively offer cluster configurations, incorporating comprehensive networking and storage infrastructure. This strategic positioning targets clients searching for complete “End-to-End” solutions, especially those unable to access NVIDIA’s hardware.
Introducing the Ascend 950: A New Era for AI Chips
Huawei is poised to deliver its cutting-edge Ascend 950 AI chips directly to Korean clients. Available in the 950PR and 950DT configurations, these chips feature Huawei’s proprietary HBM integration and are offered in cluster configurations known as the Atlas SuperPod models. These setups are reported to compete directly with NVIDIA’s Rubin lineup, providing Korean consumers with leading-edge technology from the Chinese tech powerhouse.
| Feature | Ascend 950PR | Ascend 950DT |
|---|---|---|
| Target Workloads | Inference & recommendation | Decode & training |
| HBM Type | HiBL 1.0 | HiZQ 2.0 |
| HBM Capacity | ~128 GB | ~144 GB |
| HBM Bandwidth | ~1.6 TB/s | ~4 TB/s |
| Interconnect Bandwidth | ~2 TB/s | ~2 TB/s |
| Compute Orientation | Prefill/Inference | Training + Decode |
Huawei’s expansion strategy has drawn comparisons to the “Belt & Road” initiative, focusing on AI technology. While the potential is vast, the main challenge for Huawei remains its capacity to meet the expanding global demand. Huawei’s move to introduce its Ascend 950 AI chips to Korea reflects a strategic shift aimed at broadening its influence in the international tech market.