Huawei Unveils New AI Chip Technologies in Challenge to Nvidia

Huawei has unveiled a new set of chip technologies at its annual conference in Shanghai, in a move that signals China's intensifying push to close the artificial intelligence gap with the United States.

The centrepiece of the announcement was the Atlas 960 SuperPoD computing cluster, a faster successor to a model the company introduced only months earlier. Huawei said the new cluster delivers improvements in AI training and "inference" — the stage at which a trained model makes predictions or decisions.

The company also set out a longer-term roadmap, stating that it plans to launch the Ascend 970 and 980 chip series in 2028 and 2029, with expectations of significant gains in computing power.

The timing of the event drew attention. It came just days before an expected meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington on Sept. 24.

"The timing — less than two weeks before President Xi Jinping's visit to Washington — underscores Beijing's confidence and ambition in technology and innovation," said George Chen, a partner and chair of digital practice at The Asia Group consultancy.

China has pursued technological self-reliance, particularly in semiconductors, after U.S.-led restrictions cut off its access to some of the world's most advanced AI chips and cutting-edge chipmaking equipment.

Analysts note that advanced work in China, including the training of AI models, still often depends on American chips such as those made by Nvidia. However, Huawei has developed its own advanced chips and retains a lead over other Chinese chip developers, as domestic AI companies increasingly adopt locally made hardware.

The rapid upgrade cycle also raised eyebrows among some technology analysts, given that the Atlas 960 SuperPoD arrived soon after the Atlas 950 SuperPod was rolled out late last year.

"The fact that Huawei achieved this upgrade in just a year, far quicker than before, will only heighten U.S. anxiety about the accelerating AI competition," Chen said.

The announcement came as Trump played down calls from AI industry leaders to slow the technology's development for safety reasons, insisting that the United States must preserve its lead over China and saying "whoever wins in AI, wins."

Chen suggested that no advantage can be taken for granted. "AI developments move so quickly that no one can be certain of holding the lead forever," he said.