Reuters reports that Nvidia has approached its contract manufacturer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), to significantly increase production of the H200 chips. According to sources familiar with the matter, Chinese tech giants have driven the surge in demand, viewing the H200 as a substantial upgrade over currently available chips.
The exact additional volume Nvidia intends to order from TSMC remains undisclosed. However, a source has indicated that Nvidia has requested TSMC to begin production of the extra chips, with work expected to commence in the second quarter of 2026. This development raises concerns about potential further tightening in the global AI chip supply, as Nvidia must now balance meeting the robust Chinese demand while addressing constrained supplies elsewhere.
Breitbart News previously reported that President Donald Trump approved the sale of H200 chips, Nvdia’s second-most powerful AI processors, to China:
President Donald Trump has given the green light to Nvidia to sell its H200 AI chips, the tech giant’s second-most powerful chips, to “approved customers” in China and other countries. The decision comes with a unique condition – the U.S. government will receive a 25 percent cut of the sales revenue. Trump, in a Truth Social post, revealed that Chinese President Xi Jinping “responded positively” to this proposal.
According to Trump, the move is expected to support American jobs, strengthen U.S. manufacturing, and benefit taxpayers. The Department of Commerce is currently finalizing the details of this arrangement, which will also apply to other major American chipmakers such as AMD and Intel.
According to sources, Nvidia has decided on the H200 variants it will offer to Chinese clients, pricing them at around $27,000 per chip. The company plans to fulfill initial orders from its existing stock, with the first batch of H200 chips expected to arrive before the Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February.
Chinese officials are still deliberating whether to allow H200 imports, amid concerns that access to advanced foreign chips could slow the development of the domestic AI semiconductor industry. However, they have not signaled immediate opposition, as Chinese chipmakers have not yet produced any equivalents to the H200, despite managing to develop products that rival the performance of the older H20 chip.
Breitbart News social media director Wynton Hall, the author of the forthcoming book Code Red: The Left, the Right, China, and the Race to Control AI, emphasized the importance of the United States beating China in the AI race during a recent Breitbart Confidential interview:
Read more at Reuters here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
Read the full article here