AMD to Launch a “China-Specific” AI Chip Option To Rival NVIDIA & Huawei; Expected to Be a Cut-Down Version of the Radeon AI PRO R9700

AMD plans to focus on the China AI market with its “Radeon PRO” workstation GPUs, which comply with US regulations and offer an alternative to NVIDIA.

AMD Plans To Enter China’s AI Markets With a Workstation GPU Offering, Capitalizing On NVIDIA’s Situation

China’s AI market is currently under immense uncertainty, amid growing concerns about US regulations and the emergence of domestic firms with capable alternatives. In particular, NVIDIA isn’t certain about what to do when it comes to business with China at all, since in the recent earnings call, it was revealed that with consistent restrictions, Team Green might have to announce a business foreclosure. In light of this, AMD is prepping an AI chip for Chinese markets that will likely help the firm increase its influence over the region.

DigiTimes reports that AMD expects to offer its RDNA4-based Radeon AI PRO R9700 workstation GPU to Chinese customers, under the impression that NVIDIA’s upcoming “Blackwell” AI chip will also offer a GDDR7 solution to the market. This means that Team Green and AMD would be on par when it comes to the performance they are offering to the segment, given that both of these firms will introduce AI options that are similar in specifications, but NVIDIA would definitely hold the advantage with its robust software ecosystem.

Team Red may be able to drive interest in its workstation-level GPU for China by offering better prices, availability, and even consistent supply, but relative to NVIDIA, AMD has far less influence over Chinese markets. However, it is safe to say that AI chip options from the West in China are now approaching a point where they are severely behind domestic alternatives, such as those from Huawei, making it difficult for the likes of AMD/NVIDIA to pitch them to Chinese tech giants.

It won’t be wrong to say that competing in China is going to be a much more difficult task moving ahead, since with US restrictions in place, selling capable options to the region won’t be an option anymore. And, with the growing influence of domestic competition such as that of Huawei, NVIDIA/AMD are basically stuck in a difficult situation.