Nvidia is losing ground in China's AI chip market as export restrictions and Beijing's promotion of domestic technology strengthen Huawei's position. An IDC report cited by Reuters found Nvidia held 34% of China's AI accelerator market in the first half of 2026. The IDC report put Huawei's share at 28%, narrowing the gap with Nvidia.
The IDC report found Nvidia shipped 678,000 accelerators between January and June, down 44% from the same period last year. Huawei's accelerator shipments nearly doubled to 572,000, from more than 300,000 a year earlier, according to the IDC report. The IDC report put Alibaba Group Holding's T-Head unit's market share at 7%. The IDC report put Cambricon Technologies' market share at 5%.
The IDC report found China's total accelerator shipments climbed to 2,008,000 units. GPU shipments declined 26% to 991,000 units. Other accelerator shipments increased nearly 80% to 1,016,000 units.
IDC did not clarify which Nvidia chips accounted for Nvidia's 34% market share. IDC also did not clarify whether the figure included restricted B200 and B300 chips, which have reportedly been smuggled into China. Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
U.S. restrictions on advanced AI chip exports have limited Nvidia's available products in China. Beijing has encouraged domestic alternatives. Beijing has also introduced approval requirements for Nvidia imports that comply with Washington's rules.
Huawei introduced more than 10 chipsets in September, spanning AI accelerators, processors and connectivity components. Huawei targeted infrastructure dominated by Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Intel. DeepSeek partnered with Huawei later that month on open-source software for Ascend chips. The software challenges Nvidia's CUDA platform, which has helped maintain developers' reliance on Nvidia processors.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in May that Huawei was "very, very strong". Huang acknowledged Nvidia had "largely conceded" the China market as export controls accelerated the domestic chip ecosystem. Huang said, "I don't have any expectation." Nvidia shares dipped about 0.90% to $224.29 in premarket trading on Tuesday.
Nvidia Loses Ground in China as Huawei's AI Chip Shipments Nearly Double to 572,000
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Summary
Nvidia’s grip on China’s AI chip market slipped to 34% in H1 2026, as Huawei shipped 572,000 units, taking 28% of the market. U.S. export curbs and Beijing’s push for homegrown tech hurt Nvidia, while Huawei expanded its product line and linked up with DeepSeek to rival CUDA. Altcoins to watch may react to shifts in tech and trade dynamics. Fear and greed index readings suggest mixed sentiment as the sector evolves.
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