Nvidia is scrambling to meet a massive wave of demand for its H200 artificial intelligence chips from Chinese tech companies. According to sources, Chinese firms have already placed orders for over 2 million of the chips for 2026, but Nvidia only has about 700,000 in stock. The U.S. chip giant has reportedly approached its manufacturing partner, TSMC, to ramp up production to fill the gap.
The H200 is a specialized AI chip that Nvidia developed for the Chinese market after the U.S. government banned the sale of its more powerful chips. While the Trump administration recently gave Nvidia the green light to resume sales of the H200 to China, Beijing has not yet officially approved any shipments. This puts Nvidia in a tricky position, as it’s now trying to balance the huge demand from China with its supply needs for the rest of the world.
The new orders are a sign of just how desperate Chinese tech companies are to get their hands on Nvidia’s powerful AI hardware. Sources say Nvidia is pricing the H200 chips at around $27,000 each, which means the new orders could be worth tens of billions of dollars.
In a statement, Nvidia said that the sales to China will have “no impact” on its ability to supply its U.S. customers. The company also argued that blocking all U.S. exports to China would only help its foreign competitors.
For now, Nvidia plans to fulfill the first batch of orders using its existing stock, with the chips expected to arrive in China before the Lunar New Year. But the huge new orders make it clear that the AI arms race is far from over, and Nvidia is at the very center of it.
