Nvidia is said to be preparing additional production after receiving purchase orders for more than 2 million "H200" artificial intelligence (AI) chips from Chinese internet corporations. The Donald Trump U.S. administration previously allowed sales of the chip to China.
Reuters reported on the 31st (local time), citing anonymous sources, that Nvidia received orders for more than 2 million H200s from Chinese corporations. Nvidia's H200 inventory is said to be around 700,000 units.
Nvidia has reportedly priced the H200 chip at about $27,000 (about 39 million won) per unit. The price of a single module composed of eight H200 chips is expected to be about 1.5 million yuan (about 310 million won).
To meet supply volumes, Nvidia has reportedly asked Taiwan TSMC, a foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturer) corporation, for additional production. One source expected additional H200 production to begin in the second quarter of next year. The H200 is manufactured using TSMC's 4-nanometer (nm; 1 nm is one-billionth of a meter) process.
The H200, part of Nvidia's "Hopper" line, lags behind the company's new AI chip "Blackwell" line in performance. Still, it is classified as a high-performance chip for AI. Nvidia has focused on producing Blackwell and "Rubin," a next-generation AI chip slated for launch in the second half of 2026, but rising demand from China has prompted the company to expand production to the H200 as well.
The customers that placed orders for more than 2 million H200s with Nvidia are China's major internet corporations. Chinese corporations have been buying and using the "H20" chip, which artificially and significantly reduced the H200's performance due to U.S. government sanctions. The H200 is about six times more powerful than the H20.
Despite the U.S. government's policy allowing sales, opposition from the Chinese government could block H200 purchases, a key uncertainty in this transaction. Chinese authorities, concerned that advanced foreign chips could slow the development of the domestic AI Semiconductor industry, are reviewing whether to allow H200 imports.