The Truth about China's Latest AI Chips

In this video I dive into the most competitive Chinese AI GPUs that are, according to some benchmarks, even better than NVIDIA’s GPUs.

MY GEAR (affiliate links):

[AnastasiInTech]

Let me know what you think and please share this video with those who might be interested !

[riturajborah]

I had some chinese colleagues in my research lab. They were the most hard working and resilient folks I have ever seen. I am from India, and I have deep respect for them. These guys deliver and keep quite about it, move on to the next project. A lot of the local European colleagues made fun of them, but they were too gentlemanly to engage in any bitter conflict. They pursued a PhD with little knowledge of English, still wrote excellent theses although the time was too short to master the speaking part of it. They completed their studies and went back to China, left gifts for us all the colleagues (the mean ones as well). I wish India follows the Chinese no nonsense attitude to living life.

[djannias]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

00:00 🌐 *Semiconductor technology is crucial for economic competition between the US and China, leading to restrictions on China's access to critical technology.*
01:28 🧠 *Challenges faced by Chinese AI chip companies include design, manufacturing, and software stack development.*
03:21 💻 *Huawei's 910b GPU is a top competitor in China, potentially surpassing Nvidia's H20 GPU in performance.*
04:42 📈 *High demand for Huawei's 910b GPU poses a challenge for manufacturing capacity.*
06:00 🏭 *SMIC is expanding fabs to meet demand, exploring alternative lithography techniques beyond 5nm.*
08:13 💾 *China's focus on high bandwidth memory production is crucial for AI chip self-sufficiency.*
09:06 🔬 *Developing an efficient software stack is a key challenge for Chinese AI chip companies.*
09:56 🚀 *Despite challenges, Chinese startups like Biren and More Threads are innovating in AI chip design.*
11:42 💡 *Startups like Hygen Technology and Intelifusion are entering the market with promising GPU designs compatible with Nvidia's CUDA platform.*
13:58 🌱 *Despite current challenges, China aims for self-reliance in AI chip manufacturing in the future.*

Made with HARPA AI

[morenofranco]

As the old saying goes: "Neccessity is the Mother of Invention". Thru out history every country that has faced trade embargo or sanctions - has gone on to develop its own technology fix to get out of trouble. Thanks, Anastasi as always fir a great presentation.

[alxvideos]

In 2011, the United States restricted China's aerospace development through the "Wolf Clause". Over the past decade, China's aerospace progress has been obvious to all.

[benedictchin]

Thank you. Keep it objective as you are. You and TP Huang (on X) are my trusted source on China's tech development.

[springwoodcottage]

Beautifully clear, concise & topical. All my experience of using Chinese tech & meeting Chinese physicists/ engineers has been one of remarkable ability, determination & achieving. It seems certain to me that China will develop what ever is needed to make it a major player in this exciting AI world & that the sanctions forcing them to do it alone are a blessing in disguise. My biggest concern is that these sanctions are fostering yet more hate & distrust between the super powers risking military conflict. Still the blessings of AI are potentially so powerful that we as a species may enter a golden age of plenty & forget all the old difficulties & quarrels that created such a bloody history of humanity. Thank you for sharing where the Chinese have reached & potential bottle necks that they will have to solve. It is one of the most exciting adventures of our time.

[nawafdreams]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

00:00 *🤖 Restrictions on Critical Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment*
- Overview of the economic competition between the US and China regarding semiconductor technology.
- Restrictions on the most critical semiconductor manufacturing equipment produced by companies like ASML, LAM Research, KLA.
00:29 *🧠 Domestic Developments of Advanced AI Chips in China*
- The US restrictions have stimulated domestic developments of advanced AI chips in China.
- Companies like Huawei, Alibaba, Meta X, and various startups are developing their own AI chips to compete with NVIDIA GPUs.
01:28 *🛠️ Challenges in Designing, Manufacturing, and Software for New Chinese AI Chips*
- Designing chips without the use of American EDA tools like Synopsys and Cadence is a challenge.
- Manufacturing capabilities and capacity at SMIC are limited compared to TSMC.
- Developing software stacks to efficiently utilize the new hardware is a key challenge.
03:21 *🐯 Huawei's 910B GPU: Powerful but Facing Challenges*
- Huawei's 910B GPU is a competitive AI GPU, with higher performance than NVIDIA's H20 GPU.
- However, Huawei is facing challenges in manufacturing capacity and software optimization.
- SMIC's limited capacity may not be able to meet the high demand for the 910B GPU.
05:06 *🏭 Challenges in Manufacturing and Packaging for Chinese AI Chips*
-MIC's limited manufacturing capacity and access to advanced lithography tools like EUV are obstacles.
- Chinese companies are exploring alternative techniques like using particle accelerators for lithography.
- Developing high-bandwidth memory solutions is another critical challenge.
07:46 *🤖 Software Stack Development: A Key Challenge for Chinese AI Chip Companies*
- Building a software stack from scratch to efficiently utilize the new hardware is a major challenge.
- Companies like Huawei and Biren are investing in developing their own software stacks.
- Compatibility with existing platforms like NVIDIA's CUDA is also an important consideration.
09:56 *🔍 Biren's BR100 GPU: Promising but Facing Limitations*
- Biren's BR100 GPU was considered one of the most competitive in China, with performance comparable to NVIDIA's latest GPUs.
- However, the company faced challenges with the advanced packaging technology required for their design.
- TSMC's suspension of manufacturing the BR100 due to export regulations has forced Biren to pivot their design.
11:42 *🆕 Other Chinese AI Chip Startups and Their Efforts*
- Startups like Intelifusion and Hygen are developing new AI chips, some of which claim compatibility with NVIDIA's platforms.
- These startups face challenges in securing manufacturing capacity, which is likely prioritized for Huawei.
13:30 *🔜 Future Outlook: China's Potential for Domestic AI Chip Development*
- Despite the current challenges, the author is confident that China will overcome the manufacturing and software hurdles in the next 5 years.
- This could lead to China's ability to domestically design and manufacture AI chips capable of training large language models similar to GPT-4.

Made with HARPA AI

[Alex-zcds]

in China the word "impossible" has no room in technology sector its only a matter of time

[summertech]

There is no doubt the US sanctions are making life difficult for the Chinese companies that relied on semiconductor products. However, your analysis missed out on how fast the local alternatives are progressing. They are creating breakthroughs of so many things that were thought to be impossible in such short timeframe. For example, the fact that Huawei is able to produce 7nm chips at this point was thought to be impossible just a year ago. It is also reported the SMIC and Huawei will likely produce 5nm chips in 2024.

Some will say the leading edge is now 3nm going to 2nm. What's the big deal of 5nm? They are awfully late.

No. That's a huge deal. Because this shows how powerful the current movement of self-sufficiency in China is. Without the sanctions, Chinese companies have been buying up to $400 billion of foreign semiconductor products annually. There was no intention to build local alternatives nor could anyone justify financially to do so, but the sanctions changed all that. The sanctions created a national obsession, aligned diverse groups, and put laser focus on a single industry with an intensity and urgency no less than that of the Manhattan project or the Apollo initiative. With such movement, it's hard to imagine China not being able to completely change the landscape of the global semiconductor industry in 5 to 10 years time.

To those who say China is still 2 generations behind the state of the art, the reality is 90% of the applications don't require advanced chips. Only a handful of applications such as the most advanced smart phones truly require the state of the art. For all other applications, mature nodes of 14nm and up are good enough. In fact, the development costs of 5nm or better are so astronomical, very few companies are able to afford. The fact that SMIC is able to prove they could product 14nm chips that are capable of 7nm chips performance is a great opportunity for others. Despite lower yield, the overall cost over the lifetime of a product might be significantly lower by using SMIC's N+2 approach.

In addition, the mature technology (28nm and up) markets will provide the local Chinese startups with the necessary profits to feed into R&D, which will eventually make them globally competitive. When that happens, the global semiconductor industry will be trashed. Not just foundry and chips, but also semiconductor equipment, EDA and other supporting tools will see their prices halved. Just look at what happened to the solar industry, EV and shipbuilding industries once the Chinese becomes technologically competitive.

[eymeeraosaka]

The Chinese were caught with their pants down by American sanctions and secondary sanctions. The fact that they can recover so fast can only mean one have a very strong tech ecosystem and it is only a matter of time before they catch up and even surpass the they have a big market for their own products while American tech companies will have a tough time finding a market of China size....

[thierry-le-frippon]

The restrictions are a setback but will make china stronger atvthe end... They will end up having a full solution from design like ARM, machines like ASML, manufacturing like TSM, and the end product with software like Nvidia...

[markallan]

Thank you for the thoughtful commentary on the effort Chinese companies are making. As well as other companies. This was very interesting and insightful to watch.

[rikvermeer]

First China was 10 years behind compared to TSMC with ASML machinery, now it seems only 5. Another year of Moore's law it will be 2. With these types of investments i'm sure China will close the gap.

[wangyaohan]

the only source I can trust about anything (good or bad) related to china and semiconductor. I trust your objectivity and unbiased reporting.

[JohnSmithAB]

I would not underestimate China's ability to do anything they prioritize. And creating an adequate supply of advanced GPUs for training/running AI models is obviously a priority. I expect in just a few years time they will be at a world class, if not industry-leading, level.

[vagnertavaresjr]

Considering that China has only recently started investing in this area heavily... By 2025 we should see a lot of advancement and new tecnologias...

[empru]

Your channel growth is amazing right now. Congratulations.

[RED--]

People these days get fed too much BS about China..
Trust me bros.. I'm a Brazilian and I have been listening to bad shit about China since I was a boy.
Then I traveled here because my wife ( shes chinese ) and the reality is EXTREMELY DIFFERENT.
A safe, fun, full of culture, delicious food, more modern than ANY country I have been too and extremely convenient.
I simply don't wan't to move out anymore..

[jal]

These Chinese companies must be *loving* the American boycott. It has opened a door for them to grow inmensely by guaranteeing them customers and therefore funding. They literally have no competition but each other.