Nvidia Reportedly Asks TSMC to Rush Lucrative GPU Orders Before US-China Sanctions Bite
According to a report published by the Taiwanese business journal, Nvidia is looking to quickly track down orders for some high-end GPUs. The reason behind the need for speed is that Nvidia wants to fulfill orders for lucrative Ampere A100 and Hopper H100 GPUs to China before the US-imposed sanctions kick in. UDN These “super hot runs” would create a welcome chunk of earnings for Nvidia and propel TSMC’s fourth quarter earnings to new highs.
Nvidia is naturally keen to fill orders for high-end, high-margin GPU accelerators. In the near future, the green team will not be able to reach out to their main customers in China, as the US has imposed sanctions on high-end AI chips. However, the US government will allow a grace period or transition period to give US technology companies time to adjust. UDN reports that his A100 chip will be available for purchase by Chinese companies until March 2023, while his H100 chip with the new architecture will be available for purchase by Chinese companies until next September.
UDN reports that TSMC has a special program to help time-pressed customers with a “super hot run.” This rush order negotiated between TSMC and its customers (obviously not cheap) cuts the time from order to delivery essentially in half. This means that his Nvidia order for a new batch of A100 and/or H100 GPUs could be delivered in 2-3 months instead of 5-6 months, according to sources. Additionally, the first batch of completed rush orders will be delivered to Nvidia as early as the end of October.
With Nvidia’s powerful GPUs facing a ban on sales to China, readers won’t be surprised to hear that Nvidia DGX systems with these GPUs will also be restricted. That makes sense, but the logic behind the grace period (one year from the date the sanctions came into force) given to companies like Nvidia to continue selling high-end chips to China is that China is not a suspect in the technology. Any use would be strongly questioned.
Recently, there have been some dark headlines regarding the semiconductor business. Tech industry turmoil such as the Ethereum merger, the withdrawal of his EVGA from the AIB market, and the general macroeconomic stagnation due to the looming recession will have a particularly negative impact on the GPU market. As such, the GPU industry looks set to enter a period of stagnation unless something amazing or extraordinary happens, prompting customers to buy the latest and greatest in a hurry. Will there be something special coming out soon from Nvidia or AMD with Nvidia at the forefront as GTC takes place this week and specifically the company has his GeForce Beyond broadcast tomorrow We need to know a lot soon.
