DeepSeek AI Boosts Huawei’s Competition Against U.S. Chips in China
The emergence of DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence (AI) models is enhancing the competitive edge of Chinese chipmakers like Huawei, offering them a stronger position in the domestic market against powerful U.S. processors.
DeepSeek AI: A Game-Changer for Chinese Chipmakers
For years, Huawei and its Chinese counterparts have struggled to rival Nvidia’s cutting-edge chips, which dominate AI model training. Training involves feeding data to algorithms to enhance decision-making accuracy. However, DeepSeek’s AI models prioritize inference—the stage where an AI model generates conclusions—optimizing computational efficiency instead of depending solely on raw processing power.
This shift could help Chinese-made AI processors narrow the gap with their U.S. counterparts, according to analysts.
Read More: Liang Wenfeng, the founder and CEO of DeepSeek
Huawei and Other Chinese Firms Embrace DeepSeek AI
Leading Chinese AI chipmakers—including Huawei, Hygon, EnFlame (backed by Tencent), Tsingmicro, and Moore Threads—have recently announced support for DeepSeek models. While detailed specifications remain undisclosed, this alignment signals a strategic move to counter U.S. export restrictions on high-performance chips.
DeepSeek’s open-source framework and low costs are expected to accelerate AI adoption in China, fostering innovation in real-world applications. Huawei’s Ascend 910B processor has already gained traction among companies like ByteDance, which prefers it for inference tasks due to its efficiency in handling computationally lighter workloads, such as powering AI chatbots.
Across China, automakers, telecom providers, and tech firms are rapidly integrating DeepSeek models into their operations, leveraging its advanced AI capabilities.
Chinese AI Chips vs. Nvidia: The Ongoing Battle
Despite these advancements, Nvidia continues to dominate the global AI chip market, even for inference tasks. Although U.S. restrictions have blocked Nvidia’s most advanced AI training chips from being sold to China, the company still provides less powerful training chips that Chinese firms use for inference.
A recent Nvidia blog post emphasized that inference demands are rising and suggested that Nvidia’s GPUs remain essential for maximizing the effectiveness of DeepSeek and similar AI models.
Huawei’s Push for CUDA Independence
Beyond hardware, Nvidia holds a significant software advantage through CUDA, a parallel computing platform that enables developers to utilize Nvidia GPUs beyond graphics and AI tasks. In response, Huawei has introduced Compute Architecture for Neural Networks (CANN) as a CUDA alternative. However, persuading developers to transition remains a challenge.
“Chinese AI chipmakers lag in software performance,” noted Lian Jye Su, chief analyst at Omdia. “CUDA offers an extensive library and diverse capabilities that require long-term investment, making it difficult for alternatives to compete.”
Conclusion
DeepSeek’s AI models could provide a much-needed boost to Chinese chipmakers, particularly in AI inference tasks, allowing them to compete more effectively against U.S. giants like Nvidia. However, Nvidia’s technological leadership, software ecosystem, and global reach still give it the upper hand.
As the AI race intensifies, Huawei and other Chinese firms must continue to enhance their chip technology and software compatibility to establish a strong foothold in the evolving AI landscape.
