Despite facing U.S. sanctions, Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies has unveiled a powerful new AI computing system — the CloudMatrix 384 — touted as a direct challenger to Nvidia’s most advanced chip platform, the GB200 NVL72.
Huawei showcased the CloudMatrix 384 at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, positioning it as a milestone in China’s efforts to build a self-reliant AI chip ecosystem. Originally announced in April, the system integrates 384 of Huawei’s 910C AI chips and has gained international attention for its performance and scalability.
A Warning from Nvidia’s Jensen Huang
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, speaking to CNBC in June, acknowledged Huawei’s rapid technological strides and cited CloudMatrix as a serious development. At the Viva Technology conference in Paris, Huang warned that continued U.S. restrictions on AI chip exports to China could backfire.
“If the United States doesn’t want to partake or participate in China, Huawei has got China covered — and Huawei has got everybody else covered,” Huang said. While emphasizing that Nvidia’s technology remains “a generation ahead,” he urged the U.S. to maintain engagement, warning that isolation could accelerate China’s domestic AI progress.
Huang also stressed the importance of the global AI ecosystem being built on American technology stacks, rather than China’s, to maintain innovation leadership and interoperability.
Why Huawei’s CloudMatrix 384 Matters
The CloudMatrix 384 system, designed around a high-speed “supernode” architecture, allows efficient interconnection between hundreds of chips — an essential feature for running large-scale AI models. According to Dylan Patel of SemiAnalysis, the system could even outperform Nvidia’s GB200 NVL72 in certain tasks, thanks to its architecture and integration capabilities.
This puts Huawei in a strong position as China’s leading domestic supplier of AI hardware, particularly as Beijing pushes to reduce dependence on Western technology amidst tightening export controls from Washington.
With geopolitical tensions reshaping the global AI hardware market, Huawei’s aggressive push into high-end AI computing marks a pivotal moment — not only in China’s tech ambitions but also in the global AI arms race.
