Huawei anticipates AI chip revenue to grow by at least 60%, reaching approximately $12 billion this year, up from $7.5 billion in 2025, according to the Financial Times, citing informed sources. The forecast is based on existing orders and highlights the Chinese tech giant's rapid transformation into a dominant force in the domestic AI chip market amid tightening US export restrictions on Nvidia.

DeepSeek V4 Launch Triggers Surge in Demand

The revenue forecast comes amid a sharp spike in demand for Huawei's latest Ascend 950 series processors following DeepSeek's April 24 release of its V4 AI model, which is optimized for Huawei hardware. Major Chinese internet firms, including Alibaba, ByteDance, and Tencent, are racing to secure orders for these chips, Reuters reports.

Huawei announced that the entire Ascend SuperNode product line based on the Ascend 950 series now supports DeepSeek V4 models, noting that these chips were used in training V4-Flash. DeepSeek suggested that V4-Pro prices could drop further in the second half of 2026 as Huawei scales production of the Ascend 950. Huawei aims to ship 750,000 units of the 950PR chip this year; mass production started in April, with full-scale shipments expected in the second half of the year.

China’s Path to AI Self-Sufficiency

The surge in interest for domestic chips reflects a strategic shift in the Chinese AI ecosystem. DeepSeek intentionally provided early V4 access to domestic chipmakers rather than Nvidia, a departure from its previous models trained on Nvidia hardware. Bernstein analysts estimate that under current export restrictions, Nvidia’s share of the Chinese AI chip market could drop to 8%, while Huawei’s could rise to 50%.

Huawei reported total revenue of 880.9 billion yuan ($127.8 billion) for 2025, with R&D spending reaching a record 192.3 billion yuan. The Ascend ecosystem now boasts over four million developers.

Competitive Landscape

The Ascend 950PR chip, manufactured by SMIC using the advanced N+3 process, is estimated by analysts to offer performance levels between Nvidia’s H100 and H200. Chinese AI chipmakers—Huawei, Cambricon, and Hygon—ensured compatibility with DeepSeek V4 on the day of its release. TrendForce predicts the Chinese high-end AI chip market will grow by over 60% in 2026, with domestic chips potentially capturing about half of the market.

"Through close technical collaboration, the entire Ascend SuperNode product range now supports the DeepSeek V4 model series," Huawei stated in an official announcement last week.