Nvidia's China AI-chip share falls as Huawei closes gap, report finds
NVDA•Nvidia's share of China's data-center AI-chip market fell to 34% in the first half of 2026, with shipments down 44% to 678,000 chips, while Huawei reached 28% with 572,000 chips. Non-GPU accelerator shipments rose nearly 80% to 1.016 million, surpassing GPU shipments.
1. Nvidia shipments decline
Nvidia shipped 678,000 AI accelerators in China from January through June, down 44% from a year earlier, and held 34% of the market, IDC data showed. Huawei shipped 572,000 chips, up from more than 300,000 a year earlier, for a 28% share.
2. Domestic suppliers gain
US export controls have restricted the Nvidia products available for sale in China, while Beijing has promoted domestic alternatives and required companies to seek approval to import eligible Nvidia chips. Nine of the 11 Chinese chipmakers tracked by IDC increased shipments year over year; Alibaba's T-Head held 7% of the market, Cambricon 5%, Baidu's Kunlunxin 4% and Hygon 3%.
3. Non-GPU chips overtake GPUs
Total AI-accelerator shipments reached 2.008 million units in the first half. GPU shipments fell 26% to 991,000, while other accelerator shipments rose nearly 80% to 1.016 million; Huawei, T-Head, Kunlunxin and Cambricon accounted for 95% of the non-GPU segment. IDC expects China's total accelerator shipments to grow 19% this year, even as GPU shipments fall 9%.
