Huawei challenges Nvidia with AI super server
The AI server race heats up as Huawei counters US chip export restrictions.
Huawei has unveiled its most powerful AI server, the CloudMatrix 384, to challenge Nvidia’s grip on the high-performance AI infrastructure market.
The system, launched at the World AI Conference in Shanghai, uses 384 Ascend 910C chips, significantly outnumbering Nvidia’s 72 B200 GPUs in the GB200 NVL72.
Although Nvidia’s GPUs remain more powerful individually, Huawei’s design relies on stacking and high-speed chip interconnection to boost overall performance.
The company claims the CloudMatrix 384 can deliver 300 petaflops of computing power, well above Nvidia’s 180 petaflops, though it consumes nearly four times more energy.
The US recently reversed its ban on Nvidia’s H20 chip exports to China, seeking to curb Huawei’s momentum. However, ongoing reports of smuggled Nvidia GPUs raise doubts over the effectiveness of these restrictions.
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