Huawei accelerates AI chip launch amid global tech rivalry

Huawei has moved up the launch of its next-generation Ascend 960DT AI chip to the first quarter of 2027, as revealed at its Huawei Connect conference. The company had previously planned to release the chip in Q3 2027, according to a Huawei spokesperson. David Wang, Huawei’s rotating and acting chairman, announced the updated timeline. The chip is expected to double performance compared to its predecessor, with the company advancing its AI capabilities year by year. Huawei is also promoting its Peerium Computing Architecture, which aims to create large-scale AI systems for both training and inference. The Atlas 950 SuperPoD and SuperCluster are the first systems based on this architecture, with the SuperCluster capable of connecting up to 256,000 accelerator cards. However, some analysts have raised questions about the scale of the SuperPoD, which reportedly includes only 4,096 chips, compared to earlier plans for 15,488. Despite U.S. restrictions on advanced semiconductor technology, Huawei continues to advance its AI ambitions. Analyst Rui Ma noted that the chip’s timeline is significantly earlier than expected, but the system scale is smaller. Meanwhile, U.S. President Trump is pushing to maintain the country’s lead in AI development, while Huawei’s Eric Xu argues that China needs to accelerate AI progress to catch up with the U.S.