China has been manufacturing in a technology environment surrounded by US-based export restrictions for years. These restrictions have greatly limited the country’s access to advanced AI chips. Still, Chinese companies are making intense efforts to reduce foreign dependency and establish their own technological infrastructure. One of the most striking examples of these efforts was the artificial intelligence chip project called Huawei Ascend 910C, which Huawei has been carrying out in secret for a long time.
Huawei has been focusing on developing an alternative chip to NVIDIA’s powerful AI accelerators for a long time. The Ascend 910C model, which emerged in line with this goal, is seen as one of the most ambitious designs the company has produced to date, in terms of both hardware and architecture. Despite this, how the production process proceeded was kept secret for a long time. However, the latest news published by Bloomberg has largely eliminated this mystery. The news included information that Huawei used TSMC’s molds and Samsung’s high bandwidth memory when developing this chip.
Huawei obtained TSMC molds indirectly during the production process
According to Bloomberg’s data, Huawei indirectly procured TSMC molds to produce approximately three million Ascend chips despite export restrictions. It is stated that a shell company was used in this process. In addition, due to this leak, TSMC 1 billion dollar fine It is claimed that he had to pay. Despite everything, Huawei evaluated these molds it obtained with great care in order to keep its production line afloat. These efforts once again demonstrated China’s determination in chip production.
The dies were incorporated into production by combining previous generation HBM modules from Samsung and SK Hynix. Chinese companies are known to have stockpiled large quantities of these HBM modules just before the US restricted memory exports. Despite this, it is said that stocks have now dropped to critical levels. This situation shows that access to new generation memory technologies has become almost impossible. On the other hand, Chinese manufacturers are trying different strategies to use their existing resources more efficiently.
Some manufacturers are removing and reassembling memory from previously manufactured hardware to avoid running out of stock. This practice is considered as a short-term solution to circumvent sanctions indirectly. However, there are serious concerns about the sustainability of this method in the long term. Despite everything, the fact that production lines did not stop completely reveals how resilient Chinese companies are in this process. In addition, Huawei’s plan to shift its production processes to domestic resources indicates a search for a new direction for the future.
The rest of the report states that Huawei focused not only on hardware but also software optimizations in the Ascend 910C chip. These optimizations are of great importance in terms of both performance increase and energy efficiency. In addition, it is stated that new architectural solutions that push the limits of existing HBM modules are also being worked on. This approach of Huawei is in line with China’s goal of reducing its external dependence on chip production. However, barriers to technology transfer still slow down this process.
In addition, it is estimated that the production quantity of Ascend 910C will be limited. According to analysts, Huawei will be able to produce a maximum of one million chips next year. This number is far from meeting the demand in China’s rapidly growing artificial intelligence sector. Still, the company plans to expand these chips in domestic data centers by using its existing production capacity efficiently. This strategy aims to strengthen China’s artificial intelligence infrastructure with domestic components.
Although there were many obstacles in the production process, Huawei managed to make the Ascend 910C project a symbol of the domestic technology ecosystem. This insistence of the company strengthens China’s determination not to be left behind in the global semiconductor race. On the other hand, increasing costs, uncertainties in the production chain and technology limitations make this progress difficult. Despite this, Huawei is accelerating its efforts to develop domestic memory solutions.
Some Chinese companies are conducting research on new HBM technologies that could be an alternative to Samsung and SK Hynix. The success of these initiatives could be an important turning point in the country’s long-term goal of technology independence. Despite everything, competition in this field makes the global semiconductor market more dynamic. In this process, Huawei’s steps are being watched carefully not only for China but for the entire technology world.
All these developments show that the Ascend 910C is more than just a chip. Huawei maintains a resilient stance in the field of technology by maintaining its production will despite the current restrictions. This picture clearly reveals that China is making determined progress towards building its own technological infrastructure.