Huawei unveils domestic AI 'supernode' computer cluster as China tightens curbs on Nvidia chips

ISTANBUL

Chinese tech giant Huawei on Thursday unveiled what it described as the world’s most powerful "supernode" computer cluster, saying the system delivers top-tier processing power without using Nvidia’s advanced chips, the South China Morning Post reported.

Huawei said the cluster was built with domestic chipmaking techniques to strengthen China’s independence in artificial intelligence computing.

“Huawei is seeking to build a ‘supernode + cluster’ computing solution using chip manufacturing processes available in China to meet the growing compute needs,” Deputy Chairman Xu Zhijun said at a conference in Shanghai.

Xu added that the company will roll out new Ascend AI chips over the next three years, including the Ascend 950PR in the first quarter of 2026, on a timeline that matches Nvidia and AMD’s latest launches.

Beijing has urged Chinese firms to stop buying Nvidia chips designed specifically for China to comply with US export rules, a move that coincided with Huawei’s announcement.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Wednesday said he was disappointed by Beijing’s stance. “I’m patient about it, but they have larger agendas to work out between China and the United States.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian on Thursday said Beijing opposes “discriminatory practices against specific countries on economic, trade, and technological issues,” according to the state-run Global Times.

He added: “China is willing to maintain dialogue and cooperation with all parties to maintain the stability of the global production and supply chain.”

Huawei, under US sanctions since 2019, has emerged as a central player in Beijing’s push to develop AI capacity independent of American technology. A supernode cluster links AI accelerators through ultra-fast interconnects to function as a single high-performance system, according to the report.