TL;DR
Chinese firms have reportedly placed orders exceeding two million Nvidia H200 accelerators after U.S. export rules were loosened. Nvidia has limited inventory and has asked TSMC to boost production while Beijing has not yet approved inbound shipments.
What happened
Multiple sources cited by Reuters say Chinese companies have placed orders for more than two million of Nvidia's H200 AI accelerators, a sharp jump from earlier reported initial orders of 40,000 to 80,000. Nvidia currently has about 700,000 H200 units in stock and has reportedly approached foundry partner TSMC to increase output; the H200 is built on TSMC's 4N process. U.S. authorities have allowed H200 sales to approved Chinese commercial customers after a policy change that included revenue-sharing conditions, and Nvidia says those sales should not affect supplies to U.S. clients. Shipments of H200 systems are expected to begin in the second half of 2026, with 8-GPU configurations priced at roughly 1.5 million yuan (approximately $215,000). Despite U.S. approval, Chinese regulators have not necessarily signed off on imports and Beijing has recently pushed local hyperscalers toward domestic alternatives.
Why it matters
- Orders reportedly topping two million units could strain global production capacity for a high-demand AI accelerator.
- Nvidia asking TSMC to ramp 4N production highlights pressure on chip supply chains and foundry capacity.
- The U.S. decision to permit H200 sales under conditions illustrates the role of export policy in global AI hardware markets.
- Beijing's lack of approval and pressure on hyperscalers to favor domestic chips could limit actual deliveries and reshape demand.
- Large purchase intentions from major Chinese firms represent significant commercial value and geopolitical complexity for supply decisions.
Key facts
- Reuters sources say Chinese orders for Nvidia H200s reportedly exceed two million units.
- Earlier estimates cited initial Chinese orders between 40,000 and 80,000 units.
- Nvidia reportedly has about 700,000 H200 units currently in stock.
- Nvidia has approached TSMC to increase production; the H200 is manufactured on TSMC's 4N process.
- Shipments of H200 systems are expected to begin in the second half of 2026.
- An 8-GPU H200 system is said to cost around 1.5 million yuan (about $215,000).
- U.S. authorities agreed to permit H200 exports to approved Chinese commercial customers under conditions that include sharing 25% of revenues, according to reporting.
- The H200 is described as a two-year-old accelerator and is materially more capable than the H20 variant: about 6x floating-point performance, 50% more HBM3e capacity and 20% higher memory bandwidth.
- Higher-performance Blackwell-series chips use TSMC's 4NP process and remain unavailable in China.
What to watch next
- Whether TSMC can scale 4N production quickly enough to meet reported demand — not confirmed in the source.
- Whether Beijing will formally approve or restrict inbound shipments of H200 accelerators to mainland China.
- How much of the reported order volume actually converts into delivered systems and which customers receive allocations — not confirmed in the source.
- Potential impacts on global allocation for other Nvidia customers if production cannot be ramped as requested — not confirmed in the source.
Quick glossary
- H200: A high-performance Nvidia GPU accelerator designed for AI training and inference workloads.
- TSMC 4N process: A semiconductor manufacturing node used by TSMC to produce certain advanced chips; a slightly older variant than the 4NP node.
- HBM3e: A type of high-bandwidth memory used on advanced GPUs to provide fast data access for compute-intensive tasks.
- Export controls: Government rules that restrict or condition the sale of certain technologies across borders for national security or policy reasons.
Reader FAQ
How many H200s have Chinese firms reportedly ordered?
Sources cited by Reuters say orders exceed two million units.
Will shipments to China begin immediately?
Shipments are expected in the second half of 2026; however, Beijing has not necessarily approved inbound deliveries.
Does Nvidia expect U.S. customers to lose access to chips because of these orders?
Nvidia has said it does not anticipate sales to approved Chinese customers will affect supplies to U.S. customers.
Has China approved these H200 imports?
Not confirmed in the source; the reporting says Beijing had not signed off and has taken steps encouraging domestic alternatives.
SYSTEMS Nvidia DMs TSMC: please sir can I have some more? The Chinese are starved for H200s GPUzilla has reportedly received orders for more than two million units Tobias Mann…
Sources
- Nvidia DMs TSMC: please sir can I have some more? The Chinese are starved for H200s
- Exclusive: Nvidia sounds out TSMC on new H200 chip …
- EXCLUSIVE-Nvidia sounds out TSMC on new H200 chip …
- Nvidia Investors Just Got Incredible News for 2026
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