Alibaba, ByteDance, and Tencent have placed bulk orders for Huawei’s new Ascend 950PR artificial intelligence chip. These orders reportedly total hundreds of thousands of units ahead of the chip's mass production. The hardware will power the next-generation V4 AI model from Chinese lab DeepSeek.
Demand for the Ascend 950PR highlights its role as a viable alternative to Nvidia’s high-end processors restricted by U.S. export laws. The chip features improved compatibility with Nvidia’s CUDA software ecosystem, a critical factor for developers. This development signals a milestone in China’s efforts to achieve semiconductor self-reliance in the AI sector.