Huawei shipped 572,000 AI chips in China in six months, 106,000 fewer than Nvidia
Nvidia's share of China's data-center AI chip market fell to 34% in the first half of 2026, two publishers reported, citing US export restrictions. IDC data put Huawei at 28%, but the data count units, so a revenue model still needs a price per chip.
The Investor · Invest desk
Nvidia shipped 678,000 units into China in the first half of 2026, a 44% drop from a year earlier. In that period Nvidia held 34% of China's data-center AI chip market and Huawei held 28%.
| Figure | Value | Note | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nvidia units shipped into China, first half 2026 | 678,000 units | a 44% drop from a year earlier | 4 |
| Nvidia share, H1 2026 | 34% | 2 | |
| Huawei share, H1 2026 | 28% | 3 |
What happened
- Nvidia shipped 678,000 units into China in the first half of 2026, a 44% drop from the same period a year earlier.
- Non-GPU accelerators, meaning ASICs and NPUs, outsold GPUs in China by volume for the first time, with shipments up nearly 80% to 1.016 million units.
- IDC tracks eleven Chinese vendors and nine of them grew shipments; T-Head held 7% of the market, Cambricon 5%, Kunlunxin 4% and Hygon 3%.
Why it matters
- Who's exposed exposure Two of every three units shipped into China's data-center AI market now come from a vendor other than Nvidia, so a supply model routed through Nvidia covers a third of the volume.
- What's now possible capability Non-GPU accelerators are 50.6% of units, so a China supply model that tracks only GPUs misses half the volume.
- Who has to decide decision A forecaster has to pick a second-half base: a 16% fall in Nvidia's units or a 19% rise in Huawei's from first-half levels would close the 106,000-unit gap.
Next story · Invest · Sep 22
Alibaba pulls its V900 chip forward two quarters to the first quarter of 2027Confirmed13 publishers
The share figures hide where the units went, or rather they hide how far. Nvidia's 678,000 units were 44% below the prior-year period [4], so its first half of 2025 was near 1.21 million and the loss about 533,000 units [13][14]. Huawei delivered 572,000 against just over 300,000, a gain of at most 272,000 [5][21]. That covers about half of Nvidia's loss [22].
The market grew. Backing the prior year out of IDC's growth rates for GPUs (down 26% to 991,000) and non-GPU accelerators (up nearly 80% to 1.016 million) gives about 1.90 million units, so the 2.008 million total is roughly 5% bigger [9][8][6][15][16]. Every vendor other than Nvidia and Huawei, taken together, added roughly 365,000 units, more than Huawei did [17].
Cause is only partly established. China Money Network's excerpt attributes the 34% to US export restrictions and then stops at a paywall after "US export restrictions and" [1]. Cryptobriefing says the IDC research attributes much of the decline to export controls [10], and its own background section adds Beijing's push toward domestic AI chip production as a second force behind Huawei [12].
A model that scales Nvidia's China revenue by the 44% unit drop assumes the average selling price held. The Cryptobriefing write-up reports units and shares and does not include revenue or prices. It does note that Washington has restricted which Nvidia products can legally reach Chinese buyers [11]. If the permitted mix changed, revenue fell by a different percentage than units did. A model still carrying last year's Nvidia volume books about 533,000 units that were not shipped [14].
We think the ordering at the top is the least stable number here. The gap between the two is 106,000 units [23], well under the 272,000 Huawei added year on year [21], and Cryptobriefing says the leaderboard "could plausibly flip if current trends continue" [25]. That is one half-year of data. The view is wrong if Nvidia's second-half units hold at 678,000 or better, if Huawei's growth stalls, or if Washington changes which Nvidia products it lets through; any of the three would keep Nvidia ahead.
The GPU crossover is thinner. Non-GPU parts outsold GPUs by 25,000 units, 1.2% of a 2.008 million market [18], and Cryptobriefing itself asks whether the first half was a narrow crossover [26].
What to watch
- Any change to which Nvidia products US rules allow into China, since the product mix sets the price per chip that IDC's unit counts leave out.
- IDC or Nvidia disclosure of China revenue or average selling price, the input needed to turn 678,000 units into dollars.
- Whether non-GPU accelerators widen their 25,000-unit lead over GPUs in the second half, or GPUs retake it.
Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence62
- Adoption66
- Hype gap+15
- Incentives
- Not scored
- Confidence66
Perspective Coverage
5 publishers- Builder
- Builder 23%
- Operator
- Operator 23%
- Investor
- Investor 54%
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
China Money Network's excerpt says Nvidia's share of China's data-center AI chip market declined to 34% in the first half of 2026 due to US export restrictions and (text cut off behind a paywall).
- [2]
Nvidia's share of China's data-center AI chip market dropped to 34% in the first half of 2026, according to an IDC report highlighted by Reuters on October 13.
- [3]
Huawei climbed to a 28% share of China's data-center AI chip market in the first half of 2026.
- [4]
Nvidia shipped 678,000 units into China in the first half of 2026, a 44% drop from the same period a year earlier.
- [5]
Huawei delivered 572,000 units in the first half of 2026, up from just over 300,000 units a year before.
- [6]
Total shipments across China's AI accelerator market reached 2.008 million units in the first half of 2026.
- [7]
IDC tracks eleven Chinese vendors, nine of which reported year-over-year growth in shipments; T-Head held 7% of the market, Cambricon 5%, Kunlunxin 4% and Hygon 3%.
- [8]
Non-GPU accelerators (ASICs and NPUs) outsold GPUs by volume in China for the first time, with non-GPU shipments up nearly 80% to 1.016 million units.
- [9]
GPU shipments in China fell 26% to 991,000 units in the first half of 2026.
- [10]
The research attributes much of Nvidia's decline to US export controls on advanced AI chips.
- [11]
Washington has restricted which Nvidia products can legally reach Chinese buyers.
- [12]
In its background section, Cryptobriefing says Beijing's policy shift toward domestic AI chip production, with AI self-sufficiency as a priority, has supported local brands like Huawei.
- [13]
Nvidia's implied first-half 2025 shipments in China were about 1.21 million units.
- [14]
Nvidia's implied year-on-year unit loss in China was about 533,000.
- [15]
The implied first-half 2025 market was about 1.90 million units (treating 'nearly 80%' as 80%).
- [16]
The 2.008 million-unit first-half 2026 market is roughly 5% larger than the implied prior-year market.
- [17]
All vendors other than Nvidia and Huawei combined added roughly 365,000 units year on year, more than Huawei's gain.
- [18]
Non-GPU accelerators outsold GPUs by 25,000 units, about 1.2% of the 2.008 million-unit market.
- [19]
About 66% of data-center AI chip shipments in China in the first half of 2026 came from vendors other than Nvidia.
- [20]
Non-GPU accelerators were about 50.6% of China's first-half 2026 AI accelerator units.
- [21]
Huawei's year-on-year unit gain was at most about 272,000 (the base was 'just over' 300,000, so the true gain is slightly smaller).
- [22]
Huawei's unit gain covers about half (roughly 51%) of Nvidia's unit loss.
- [23]
Nvidia's lead over Huawei in first-half 2026 China shipments is 106,000 units.
- [24]
Closing the 106,000-unit gap from first-half levels would take a 16% fall in Nvidia's units or a 19% rise in Huawei's.
- [25]
Cryptobriefing says the gap between Nvidia and Huawei is narrow enough that the leaderboard could plausibly flip if current trends continue.
- [26]
Cryptobriefing asks whether non-GPU accelerators will extend their lead over GPUs, or whether the first half was a narrow crossover.
Sources
5 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- Huawei Gains Ground in China’s AI Chip Market, Nvidia’s Share Falls – China Money Network
chinamoneynetwork.com
1 article · October 13, 2026
- cryptobriefing.comNvidia’s share of China’s AI chip market falls to 34% as Huawei closes in
1 article · October 13, 2026
- cryptopolitan.comNvidia's AI chip share in China falls to 34% as Huawei gains ground
1 article · October 13, 2026
- dev.toNvidia's Grip on China's AI Chip Market Slips to 34% as Huawei Closes In
1 article · October 13, 2026
- economictimes.indiatimes.comNvidia’s share of China AI chip market falls to 34% as Huawei gains ground - The Economic Times
1 article
Topics and entities
Topics
- China semiconductors
- AI Accelerators
- Export Controls and Technology Access
- Non-GPU AI accelerators