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昇腾 950 超节点 Q4 上市,中兴、新华三、曙光全线跟进:国产超节点从概念走向交付

· 6 min read
Industry Research Team

芯片追不上,系统来补。这是国产算力过去一年最清晰的战略共识。2026 年下半年,国产超节点正式从"概念发布"进入"产品密集发布、联合适配和商业部署"阶段:华为 Atlas 950 SuperPoD 真机已亮相并计划 Q4 上市,中兴、新华三、中科曙光、壁仞、沐曦等一众厂商相继入局。


1. 华为 Atlas 950:业界最大 1024 卡超节点,Q4 上市​

继 7 月 WAIC 2026 真机首秀后,华为昇腾 950 超节点的商用脚步持续加快。核心规格:

指标Atlas 950 SuperPoD
互联规模最大 1024 × 昇腾 950DT(灵衢高速互联)
AI 算力1 EFLOPS FP8/mxFP8/HiF8、2 EFLOPS FP4
全局内存256TB 统一编址,片上内存最大 1024 × 96GB @ 4.0TB/s
互联带宽单柜最大 64 × 1.68 TB/s(双向),3μs 超低 RTT
形态满配 128 计算柜 + 32 互联柜,占地约 1000㎡,8192 颗 950DT
供电散热全液冷,100kW 供电,380V AC/336V DC/240V DC
上市时间2026 年第四季度

在 WAIC 展台之外,两个数字更能说明商业化进度:昇腾 384 超节点已商用落地 750 多套,规模应用于互联网、运营商、金融、教育、医疗等行业,并且是国内唯一训练出 SOTA 模型的超节点;更远期规划中,Atlas 950 SuperCluster(超 50 万颗昇腾芯片)同样定于 2026 Q4,Atlas 960 SuperPoD(15488 卡)与 Atlas 960 SuperCluster(超 100 万卡)将于 2027 Q4 接力。

华为的路线图背后是"Tau Scaling Law"——在 EUV 光刻机受限的前提下,通过系统级扩展突破单芯片物理极限,并计划到 2031 年将晶体管密度推升至 1.4nm 级工艺水平。

2. 超节点赛道全面开花:三条技术路线​

WAIC 之后,国产超节点形成了三类清晰的技术路线:

第一类:华为全栈自研。 同时掌握昇腾芯片、灵衢互联、Atlas 硬件、CANN 软件栈和 MindSpore 框架。CANN 已全面开源:社区上线 67 个项目、开源代码超 1244 万行、月活开发者突破 3500 人;昇腾开发者总数超 400 万。

第二类:中兴、新华三的兼容路线。 中兴发布 OEX 超节点新品,依托协议标准化与接口统一,全面兼容多元 GPU 生态;新华三 UniPoD S80000 系列可从 32 卡扩展至 1024 卡、最大支持 16384 卡互联,将 Scale-up/Scale-out 网络、液冷、供电、管理和故障恢复整合进同一套架构。

第三类:国产 GPU 联合创新。 中兴联合曦智、壁仞、沐曦、燧原、天数智芯等,基于 OEX+dOCS 架构打造国产高性能 Matrix 超节点;壁仞计划发布 BR20x 系列 GPU,基于自研 BLink 2.0 互联协议实现单超节点 1024 卡 Scale-up;沐曦推出"曦景"S 系列超节点。

在更大的 Scale-out 层面,中科曙光"曙光 8000(登峰)"全国产十万卡 AI 超集群已落成并接入国家超算互联网——它不是单体超节点,而是由大量计算节点、超节点和网络存储组成的超集群,检验的是国产算力的大规模调度、应用适配和工程交付能力。

3. 为什么"超节点"成了国产算力的主战场​

根本原因在于衡量标准变了:国产算力的评价体系,正从"比较单颗芯片的峰值性能"转为"一整套系统能够调动多少有效算力"。华为副董事长徐直军对此直言:单芯片上英伟达仍领先且短期难以追赶,但在超节点和集群层面,华为有信心。

这一转向的产业逻辑:

  • 出口管制下的现实选择:单卡制程受限 → 用高速互联把更多 NPU 组织成一台"大计算机";
  • 需求侧真实拉动:万亿参数 MoE 模型的训练与推理,天然需要大规模低时延互联,超节点恰是对症下药;
  • 生态护城河前移:CANN 开源 + MindSpore 兼容 PyTorch,把 CUDA 生态的竞争从"算子覆盖"层面拉回到"开发者规模"层面。

东兴证券指出,全球超节点赛道已聚集微软、Meta、亚马逊、三大运营商、阿里、字节、腾讯、百度、曙光、中兴、浪潮、新华三、海光、沐曦等数十家厂商——格局未定,但英伟达一家独大的局面正在被谷歌 TPU、AMD Helios、华为 Atlas 三股力量同时挑战。

4. 三道关卡:从"造出来"到"卖得动"​

业内人士普遍认为,国产超节点距离真正成熟还有三道坎:

  1. 单芯片性能与单柜算力密度:受制程限制,单卡性能差距仍存,现阶段靠多柜互联和规模扩展另辟蹊径;
  2. 规模扩展效率:超节点扩展到一定规模后性能提升边际递减,通信复杂度、能耗和容错成本持续上升;
  3. 可验证的商业价值:下一阶段的比拼是有效算力利用率、单位 token 成本、模型适配广度与客户复购意愿。

一句话总结:2026 年是"中国超节点元年",2027 年见真章——届时 Atlas 950 与 Vera Rubin NVL 系列将在全球两个平行市场各自接受规模化交付的检验。


相关链接​

参考资料​


本文基于 WAIC 2026 现场报道、昇腾社区官方规格与公开研报整理。超节点性能数据均为厂商公布口径,独立第三方评测结果尚待观察。

国产 AI 芯片半年报大检阅:寒武纪净赚 23 亿、壁仞营收暴涨 20 倍、燧原登板,"抢芯大战"白热化

· 6 min read
Industry Research Team

8 月底至 9 月初,国产 AI 芯片厂商半年报密集披露,加上燧原科技 9 月 2 日启动 IPO 申购,被称为"国产四小龙"的摩尔线程、沐曦、壁仞、燧原全部完成上市,加上早已在科创板的寒武纪——国产 AI 芯片的资本市场拼图就此补齐。更重要的是,财报数字第一次集体印证了一件事:国产算力正从"能用"跨向"好用",商业化拐点已现。


1. 半年报成绩单:增长是主旋律,盈利是分水岭​

厂商2026H1 营收同比盈利状态技术路线
寒武纪59.96 亿元+108.1%归母净利 23.11 亿自研 MLU 指令集(DSA)
摩尔线程17.36 亿元+147.4%净亏 1156 万(收窄)全功能 GPU(兼容 CUDA 路线)
壁仞科技12.36 亿元+1997.6%未盈利通用 GPU
沐曦13.24 亿元+44.7%净利 6.12 亿(首次扭亏)通用 GPU
燧原11.20 亿元+279.1%未盈利DSA 专用架构(TopsRider)

几个值得注意的细节:

  • 沐曦率先跨过盈利线:8 月 31 日披露的半年报显示净利润 6.12 亿元、同比扭亏(上年同期亏损 1.86 亿);不过扣非净利润仍为 -4900 万(亏损收窄 75.8%)——含金量仍在爬坡。
  • 壁仞低基数暴增:近 20 倍的同比增速来自上年同期极低的收入基数,但 12.36 亿的绝对体量已与燧原、沐曦同量级,第二梯队座次重新洗牌。
  • 研发强度惊人:沐曦研发费用占营收 39.7%、摩尔线程 44.3%、壁仞高达 65%——高研发投入是全员未完全盈利的根本原因,也是未来竞争力的来源。
  • 摩尔线程毛利率承压:从 78% 降至 57%,成本增速(+245%)远超营收增速(+147%)——大规模量产期的品控与爬坡成本开始显现。

2. 燧原登板:四小龙资本拼图补齐​

燧原科技 9 月 2 日启动公开申购,发行 4303 万股新股(约占上市后总股本 10%),募资目标 60 亿元,采用 DSA 专用架构 + 自研 TopsRider 软件平台(不兼容 CUDA)。至此:

  • 科创板:寒武纪(2020 年)、摩尔线程、沐曦、壁仞(2026 年)
  • 燧原:2026 年 9 月完成上市

国产 AI 芯片第一梯队全部进入公开市场,融资通道打开后,研发投入的"军备竞赛"将进一步升级。

3. 需求端:百万卡缺口,订单排到三年后​

财报爆发的另一面,是需求端的极度饥渴:

  • 产能缺口:行业调研显示,2026 年国产 AI 芯片需求规模约 400 万颗,实际交付约 300 万颗,存在百万级缺口;
  • 订单周期:内蒙古乌兰察布远景星河基地(规划支撑百万卡级并行算力)表示"在手订单已排到三年后";
  • 供给创新:算力紧缺催生"集装箱式算力中心"——20/40 英尺标准集装箱为载体,插电接水即可在 24 小时内完成部署,把传统"一年工期"压缩到"一天上线";
  • 市场空间:IDC 数据显示 2025 年中国 AI 加速卡出货约 400 万片,国产占约 41%(165 万片);CIC 预测中国 AI 加速器市场 2028 年将超万亿元,其中国产方案份额约 90%。

4. 两种路线的两种赌注​

市场研究机构预测 2026 年中国高端 AI 芯片市场中,国产方案份额将接近 90%,其中华为约 62%、寒武纪约 14%,剩余由摩尔线程、沐曦、壁仞等共同占据。而寒武纪与摩尔线程这对"双龙头",正在押注两种截然不同的未来:

寒武纪:用现金买确定性。 半年报资产负债表上,存货 82.48 亿 + 预付款 29.14 亿,两项合计 111.6 亿、占总资产 61%——在实体清单限制下"产能即订单",提前锁定未来 12-18 个月的晶圆产能,代价是经营现金流净额同比下滑 66%,且上半年已计提存货跌价损失 3.97 亿。底气来自订单确定性:57 亿元股权激励计划的考核目标是 2026 年营收不低于 135 亿、2026-2028 年累计不低于 1000 亿。

摩尔线程:用亏损买时间。 全功能 GPU 的"大而全"路线(AI 计算 + 图形渲染 + 物理仿真 + 视频编解码)前期投入巨大,需要在现金流耗尽之前跨过规模化的门槛。上半年亏损已收窄至千万级,IPO 募资到位后,时间窗口正在变宽。

5. 软件生态:被忽视的胜负手​

需求外溢(英伟达 H20 系列在中国市场遇冷)推动 DeepSeek、智谱 GLM、月之暗面 Kimi 等头部模型纷纷适配国产加速器(昇腾、沐曦、摩尔线程等),这给了国产芯片难得的"真实负载打磨机会"。但正如行业共识:芯片可以三年一代,生态需要十年之功。寒武纪自研指令集的封闭高效、摩尔线程 MUSA 对 CUDA 生态的兼容路线、燧原 DSA 的专用极致——哪条路能沉淀出真正的开发者生态,才是决定 2030 年格局的关键变量。


相关链接​

参考资料​


本文基于上市公司半年报、Pandaily 与央视财经等公开报道整理。财务数据为公司披露口径,市场份额为研究机构预测,不构成任何投资建议。

HBM4 从送样竞速进入量产爬坡竞速:SK 海力士率先交付 Rubin、美光产能翻倍、三星直逼王座

· 6 min read
Industry Research Team

9 月第一周,存储行业传来三组关键信号:SK 海力士面向英伟达 Vera Rubin 平台量产交付全球首款 12 层 HBM4;三星 Q2 HBM 份额飙升至 33%、直逼王座;美光宣布年底 HBM 月产能翻倍至约 10 万片晶圆。 HBM4 的竞争,已经从"谁能造出来"变成"谁能最快量产爬坡、谁绑定的客户最深"。


1. 三巨头战报:领跑者、追赶者与搅局者​

维度SK 海力士三星电子美光
HBM4 关键节点2026 年中向 Vera Rubin 量产交付 12 层 HBM4(全球首款完整质量认证)2026 年 2 月全球首家大规模量产出货2026 Q2 量产 12 层 HBM4,批量出货
DRAM 核心裸片1b(第五代 10nm 级)1c(第六代)—
Base Die 代工台积电 12nm自家 4nm拟转台积电(1γ 工艺代)
2026 HBM4 份额预测~54%~28%~18%
Q2 HBM 营收份额50%(环比 -14pct)33%(环比 +12pct)18%
HBM 产能~15–20 万片/月~15–20 万片/月年底冲刺 10 万片/月(现为 4–5 万)

三个关键读数:

  • 三星的反扑是真的:从去年 Q2 份额低至 15%(落后美光 6 个百分点)到今年 Q2 的 33%,三星用一年时间把与 SK 海力士的差距缩小到 17 个百分点。三星预计 HBM4 将占其下半年 HBM 收入的 60% 以上,且现有 HBM4 产能已被客户预订售罄,2026 年 HBM 总产能计划提升约 50%;
  • 美光的追赶也是真的:CEO 梅赫罗特拉透露 12 层 HBM4 爬坡速度约为 HBM3E 的两倍、累计收入已超 10 亿美元;年底若如期达成 10 万片月产能,与两强的差距将缩小一半;
  • SK 海力士的护城河依然深:与英伟达签署多年期 HBM/DRAM 供应协议、率先完成 2027 年 HBM4 价格谈判,在英伟达 HBM4 采购中占比约 60%(乐观情形 70%)。

2. 变局核心:封装比 DRAM 制程更值钱​

HBM4 与 HBM3E 时代最大的不同,是胜负手从存储颗粒转向了封装与 Base Die:

  • I/O 通道数从 1024 条翻倍至 2048 条,单颗 12 层封装吞吐超 2TB/s,能效较前代提升逾 40%;
  • Base Die 首次引入晶圆代工厂先进逻辑工艺——SK 海力士用台积电 12nm,三星用自家 4nm,美光计划在 1γ(首次导入 EUV)世代转由台积电代工;
  • 存储原厂与代工厂的协作深度,第一次成为决定出货速度的关键变量——这正是 Hot Chips 2026 上"三星 HBM Base Die 逻辑工艺化"议题的产业注脚。

SEMI 数据显示,2026 年全球 HBM 市场规模预计增长 58% 至 546 亿美元,约占 DRAM 市场四成。行业预计 HBM4 销售占比将在 2026 年 Q4 正式超越 HBM3E,成为市场主流。

3. 客户端信号:Rubin 加码,Rubin CPX 重生​

需求端同样在 9 月出现重要变化:

  • Vera Rubin 全面量产(详见本站专文):每颗 Rubin GPU 搭载 288GB HBM4、带宽 22TB/s,NVL72 整柜 75TB 快速内存——HBM4 供给直接决定 Rubin 出货上限,这也是英伟达把"先进晶圆与 HBM 供应"列为当前第一约束的原因;
  • Rubin CPX 项目重启:据 CFM 闪存市场 9 月 2 日简讯,英伟达重启此前搁置的 Rubin CPX 机柜项目,内存规格由 128GB GDDR7 改为 168GB HBM4,机架改为独立 MGX ETL 设计,客户可选 64/128/192/256 颗 GPU 配置——推理专用卡也全面转向 HBM4,进一步放大了 HBM4 需求;
  • 供给协议长期化:英伟达已与 SK 海力士、美光签署多年期 HBM 及 DRAM 供应协议,锁供给、锁价格、锁产能成为巨头标配动作。

4. 下半场:HBM4E 已经鸣枪​

下一代产品的竞争在 2026 年同步开启:

  • SK 海力士:HBM4E 送样提前至 2026 年年中(原计划下半年),COMPUTEX 2026 已展出 12 层样品,单引脚速率最高 16Gbps、单堆栈带宽约 4TB/s,计划 2027 年量产;
  • 三星:2026 年 Q2 起向头部客户交付业界首批 HBM4E 样品(48GB),目标 2027 年拿下 HBM4E 市场 50% 以上份额;
  • 美光:HBM4E 预计 2027 年量产,首批样品采用 1γ 制程 DRAM。

5. 对采购方与投资观察者的启示​

  • 供应商组合成为第一优先级采购变量:同样买 Rubin 平台,采用哪家 HBM 供应商的整机,交付周期可能相差数月;
  • 国产链条的机会窗口:HBM 供不应求叠加出口管制,长鑫等国产存储玩家的 HBM 进展值得持续跟踪——国产 AI 芯片(昇腾 950 系列等)对 HBM 的需求同样在放量;
  • 跟踪三个领先指标:头部云厂商 Rubin 机架采购量、HBM 设备供应商订单(美光已加大 PO)、HBM4E 送样→量产的时间差。

相关链接​

参考资料​


本文基于 2026 年 9 月初 Counterpoint Research、CFM 闪存市场及韩媒报道整理。份额与产能数据均为研究机构/供应链预估口径,实际以各原厂财报为准。

Vera Rubin 全面量产:100% 全液冷 + 800V 直流供电,AI 数据中心基础设施范式重构

· 6 min read
Industry Research Team

2026 年 9 月初,供应链信息确认:英伟达 Vera Rubin 平台已于 8 月正式量产、9 月启动批量出货,无延期、无卡顿。与 Blackwell 迭代初期的产能波折不同,这次量产节奏异常平稳——谷歌云、微软 Azure、CoreWeave、甲骨文云等头部云厂商已启动机架部署。但真正值得产业记住的,不是"又一代 GPU 量产了",而是 Rubin 把液冷从"可选配置"变成了"硬性前置条件"。


1. 量产节奏:史上最平稳的一次平台切换​

根据产业链调研与券商跟踪信息:

  • 2026 年 8 月:Vera Rubin 正式量产;
  • 2026 年 9 月:批量出货启动;
  • 2026 下半年:CoreWeave、谷歌云、微软 Azure、甲骨文云机架部署落地;
  • 2026 年:上代 GB 架构机柜出货量有望达 6 万台(同比翻倍);
  • 2027 年:GB 与 Rubin 两代平台合计出货体量有望接近 10 万台,Rubin 新机柜远期产能目标为每天 1000 个 NVL72 机柜。

需求侧同样在加码:华尔街报告披露,英伟达管理层表示 FY28 同比增长 70% 的目标并非需求上限——若供应不受限,增速可能超过 100%。当前主要约束已从需求端转向先进晶圆与 HBM 供应。

2. 单卡 2300W:风冷时代的终结​

Rubin 平台与前代最根本的差异不在算力,而在功耗密度:

指标H100GB300Rubin
单 GPU TDP700W~1400W2300W
机柜功耗~40kW~140kW190–230kW
散热方案风冷为主风液混合100% 全液冷
供电架构48V48V800V 高压直流

单芯片 TDP 从 700W 升至 2300W、单机柜功率密度突破风冷物理极限——这意味着 液冷不再是高端算力的选配升级,而是运行 Rubin 服务器的先决条件。英伟达官方将 Rubin 全液冷架构定义为"数据中心历史上最重要的能效突破之一",并已写入 DSX AI 工厂参考设计:所有跟随英伟达技术路线的云厂商和数据中心运营商,都必须采用全面液冷方案。

三个关键架构变化:

  1. 无风扇整机:GPU、CPU、交换机、DPU 全部器件强制采用直接冷板式液冷,45℃ 温水冷板成为出厂标配;
  2. 液冷边界延伸:散热覆盖范围从 GPU 冷板延伸至 CPU、DPU、交换机乃至光模块(液冷 Cage/鼠笼开始从"可选"变"刚需"),整套液冷系统价值量较 GB300 提升约 40%;
  3. 800VDC 供电:替代传统 48V 机架配电,整机电源 BOM 价值增长 30% 以上,PSU 电源模块从 5.5kW 向 18.3kW 迭代,固态变压器、高压直流 CDU 成为数据中心新增核心设备。

3. 对产业链的三重传导​

第一重:液冷从"配套"变"主角"。 2026 下半年以小规模部署验证为主,真正的放量窗口在 2027 年——Rubin 机架大规模铺货后,冷板、快速接头、CDU、液冷泵进入业绩兑现期。台系供应链 7 月数据已率先验证:AVC 奇鋐 7 月营收 185.9 亿新台币创历史新高(同比 +57.4%),双鸿、健策 7 月同比分别 +116.7%、+91.0%。

第二重:国产液冷供应链进入核心 BOM。 国内厂商由外围冷源和代工环节逐步进入芯片平台、服务器 ODM 和海外云厂商供应体系,替代路径从 Manifold、管路推进至高可靠快接头和冷板。英维克 26H1 海外收入占比 71.4%,飞龙股份液冷泵小功率平台订单超 5 万台——液冷全核心零部件自主可控正在成为现实。

第三重:供电与散热边界融合。 800VDC 架构下,电源模块、PDB 配电单元、高速交换芯片自身发热也达到很高水平,部分电源组件同样需要液冷辅助散热——电源与温控两条产业链正在合并成一条。

4. 需求矩阵扩容:云厂商之外,太空算力入场​

Rubin 的客户矩阵已从传统云厂商扩展至三个层次:

  • 全球云厂商:谷歌云、Azure、甲骨文云、CoreWeave;
  • AI 科技巨头:马斯克公开披露 2027 年 8GW 超大规模 IDC 建设规划;SpaceX 将 Vera Rubin 架构定义为"最优 AI 计算架构",计划地面与太空双向部署,支撑 "Starmind" 卫星算力项目;
  • 主权与边缘:远期 Rubin Ultra 及 2027 年后更高功耗机型单机柜有望冲击 600kW+。

普华永道预计全球数据中心累计投资到 2035 年将达 31.6 万亿美元。AI 基础设施建设的确定性,已经从"是否建设"变成"多快建设"。

5. 对采购方的启示​

  • 机房规划前置:2027 年起采购 Rubin 级算力,液冷改造(单千瓦改造成本较高)或按全液冷标准新建,必须在预算周期一开始就纳入;
  • 看 PUE 也看水温:45℃ 温水直冷允许更高进水温度,可利用自然冷源压低 PUE——选址时人工冷源依赖度成为新的评估维度;
  • 供应商组合即风险对冲:HBM 与先进封装供应是当前核心瓶颈(详见本站 HBM4 竞速分析),供应链多元化比单点性能更重要。

相关链接​

参考资料​


本文基于 2026 年 9 月初供应链调研、券商研报与英伟达官方披露整理。出货量与功耗数据为产业链预估口径,实际以英伟达及客户正式披露为准。

Hot Chips 2026 Full Recap: Rubin, MI455X, Crescent Island Together as AI Compute Delivery Enters the "System-Level" Era

· 7 min read
Industry Research Team

August 23-25, 2026, the 38th Hot Chips (HC38) was held at Stanford's Memorial Auditorium. As the bellwether of global high-performance chip architecture, this conference landed exactly at the most intense moment of the AI compute arms race — the official agenda had 48 entries, including 7 AI accelerators, 6 memory tutorials, 6 CPUs, and 4 each of GPUs and networking. Putting the vendor talks together, one consensus emerged: the unit of AI compute competition has shifted from "single chip" to "whole rack / entire system."


1. Overview: Three Days of Agenda, Almost a Preview of the 2027 AI Rack Market​

Monday (8/24) afternoon's GPU session was the focus, with four talks nearly colliding as the 2027 AI rack market:

  • NVIDIA Rubin GPU ("Driving the Era of Agentic AI"): First chiplet-architecture GPU, 288GB HBM4, ~50 PFLOPS FP4, paired with 88-core Arm-architecture Vera CPU into NVL72 / NVL144 racks, mass production in H2 2026.
  • AMD Instinct MI400 (two talks: architecture + system architecture): Told the "rack-scale" story thoroughly.
  • Intel Crescent Island: A 350W air-cooled card designed for Agentic AI inference.

Tuesday (8/25) afternoon's AI session was almost a parade of "hyperscalers de-NVIDIA-izing": Google's 8th-gen TPU, OpenAI's first custom chip, Microsoft Maia 200, Meta MTIA, and Cerebras wafer-scale rack all appeared together.

Every vendor on stage used the term "Agentic AI" within the first two PPT slides — not a coincidence, but the collective shift in 2026 AI workload design goals.


2. NVIDIA Rubin: One Rack Is a Supercomputer​

What NVIDIA featured at Hot Chips was not a single GPU but the Vera Rubin NVL72 whole cabinet — 72 Rubin GPUs + 36 Vera CPUs, 18 compute trays + 9 NVLink switch trays, about 1.3 million components, nearly 1,300 chips, weighing about 4,000 pounds (~1.8 tons).

The single Rubin GPU specs are equally stunning:

MetricRubin GPUvs Blackwell
Transistors336 billion (TSMC 3nm dual-die)208 billion (+61.5%)
Memory288GB HBM4—
Bandwidth22 TB/s2.8× Blackwell
NVFP4 inference50 PFLOPS5× GB200
Training compute35 PFLOPS3.5×

The most disruptive design is in the compute tray: no cables, no hoses, no fans, all interconnected via the PCB backplane. NVIDIA says assembly time dropped from nearly 2 hours to 5 minutes (20× faster) while improving maintainability.

This time NVIDIA is selling not FLOPS but tokens per megawatt. Citing a SemiAnalysis benchmark based on DeepSeek-v4-PRO (140K+ context, AgentX workload), it claims: versus GB300 NVL72, Vera Rubin NVL72 delivers 10× to up to 30× tokens/MW as interaction intensity rises. A single cabinet provides 3.6 EFLOPS inference compute, whole-cabinet power 190-230kW; long-term capacity target is 1,000 NVL72 cabinets per day.


3. AMD MI455X + Helios: Bigger Memory and Open Interconnect​

AMD's answer is the MI455X + Helios rack going head-to-head with NVIDIA. MI455X uses CDNA 5 architecture, 8 N2-process accelerator dies + N3P-process interconnect die, 256 workgroup processors, 192MB global L2.

MetricMI455Xvs Rubin
Memory432GB HBM4 (12-layer stack)50% higher than Rubin's 288GB
Bandwidth23.3 TB/sSlightly ahead
MXFP4 compute40.26 PFLOPS—
System (Helios 72 cards)2.9 ExaFLOPS FP4 inference—
Price~$5.25M per cabinet—

At the system level, AMD bets on the UALoE (Ultra Accelerator Link over Ethernet) open standard: each GPU provides 3.6 TB/s bidirectional interconnect bandwidth; two 512-port 200G UALoE switch chips in the switch tray total 10.8 TB/s — opening the interconnect protocol to the whole industry while targeting NVLink.

Production cadence: AMD plans to deliver engineering samples and small-batch systems in H2 2026, with large-scale ramp in Q2 2027. Earlier rumors of Helios delay due to cooling issues were not confirmed by AMD.


4. Intel Crescent Island: The Air-Cooled, Large-Memory "Cost-Effective Oddball"​

Intel offers a completely different path: Crescent Island — a 350W, air-cooled, standard-PCIe-slot inference GPU designed for Agentic AI, with the key metric being tokens per watt.

MetricCrescent IslandNote
ArchitectureXe3P, 32 Xe cores, 32MB unified L2Disclosed at Hot Chips
MemoryIntel branded card 160GB / ODM up to 480GB LPDDR5XMore than Rubin's 288GB HBM4
Form factor350W air-cooled PCIePlugs into standard racks, no liquid-cooling retrofit
RASECC, dynamic page offline, hard-package repair, PCIe advanced error reportingAddresses "silent data corruption"

Intel's logic is clear: inference scenarios need far more memory capacity than bandwidth; using low-cost LPDDR5X for capacity and air cooling to skip liquid-cooling infrastructure drives down per-token cost. Combined with Diamond Rapids Xeon (256 performance cores, 1.28GB cache, 128 PCIe Gen6 lanes), Intel tries to surround from edge to datacenter with "CPU + inference GPU + open software stack."


5. Custom ASIC Parade: Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, Meta Together​

Tuesday afternoon's AI session was the most historic of the conference — a parade of "hyperscalers de-NVIDIA-izing":

ChipVendor / PartnerPositioningKey Specs / Progress
TPU 8t (Sunfish)Google × BroadcomTraining9,600 cards per pod, 121 FP4 ExaFLOPS, 2PB shared HBM
TPU 8i (Zebrafish)Google × MediaTekInference288GB HBM, 384MB on-chip SRAM (3× prev gen), ICI 19.2 Tb/s
JalapeñoOpenAI × BroadcomInference9-month end-to-end design, target ~50% token cost cut, commercial end of 2026
Maia 200Microsoft (TSMC 3nm)Inference140B+ transistors, 10+ PFLOPS FP4, 216GB HBM3E, serving GPT-5.2 at Des Moines datacenter
MTIA 300-500Meta (RISC-V) × BroadcomTraining + inferenceUp to 25× compute gain, one model every 6 months before 2027

Google split TPU into training (8t) and inference (8i) dedicated architectures for the first time — its biggest architectural shift in a decade. Norm Jouppi personally took the stage to present TPU v8.


6. Two Hidden Threads — Memory and Networking: HBM4 Year 1 + AI Factory OS​

Beyond GPUs/ASICs, two hidden threads mattered equally:

  • Memory: Samsung's HBM Base Die (logic-process base die) and SK hynix's advanced packaging appeared together; the HBM4-era "base-die foundry" industry shift begins; HBF (high-bandwidth flash), LPDDR5X-PIM, 3D DRAM, and CXL compute-storage showcased "compute-in-memory" moving from papers to products.
  • Networking: NVIDIA BlueField-4 (DPU) and Spectrum-X Multiplane architecture (presented by Gilad Shainer) — networking is becoming the decisive architecture for gigascale AI, scaling from hundreds of thousands to a million cards; Broadcom Thor Ultra Ethernet NIC keeps pressing; Mojo Vision showed chip-level optical I/O.

7. Three Routes, One Consensus​

At the same conference, three vendors offered three distinctly different AI compute delivery philosophies:

  1. NVIDIA: Full-stack closed integration — GPU, CPU, DPU, and switch chips all self-designed, pushing system performance to the extreme via ultimate software-hardware co-design, at the cost of deep customer lock-in.
  2. AMD: Open-standard catch-up — Uses larger HBM4 capacity + UALoE open interconnect for a "cost-effective + open" play, tearing open the inference gap with Meta and OpenAI's 12GW-class orders.
  3. Intel: Air-cooled cost-effectiveness — Abandons liquid cooling and HBM, uses LPDDR5X large memory + standard PCIe, betting that "most inference doesn't need a 200kW rack."

But all three agree: the unit of competition is no longer the chip, but the co-designed system (rack / system). For buyers, 2027 compute planning should compare not "single-card PFLOPS" but "tokens per megawatt, latency, availability, and full-lifecycle cost."

References​


This article is compiled from Hot Chips 2026 (Aug 23-25) official presentations and on-site reports from ServeTheHome, SemiAnalysis, TechPowerUp, etc. Performance data are vendor-disclosed figures; actual performance subject to mass-produced products.

HBM4 Mass-Production Year One: Samsung Yield Breaks 80%, Three Giants Pass NVIDIA Certification, the Last Bottleneck of AI Compute Supply

· 6 min read
Industry Research Team

If 2025 was the year of HBM3E capacity ramp-up, then 2026 is year one of HBM4 mass production. With NVIDIA Vera Rubin and AMD MI400 — two generations of flagship — both betting on HBM4, this "memory on the AI chip" has for the first time become a strategic commodity that dictates the delivery pace of entire racks. The yield and certification data disclosed densely in August is rewriting the global HBM supply map.


1. Golden Yield Breakthrough: Samsung Jumps from Under 60% to 80% in Six Months​

Per South Korea's Seoul Economic Daily on August 9, Samsung Electronics' HBM4 yield officially crossed the 80% "golden yield" threshold in early August — more than four months ahead of its original year-end target.

TimelineSamsung HBM4 YieldNotes
Feb 2026 (mass production start)Under 60%Line ramp-up period
Early Aug 2026~80%Crosses the mass-production / stable-profit watershed

The semiconductor industry has long held that "80% yield is the golden yield" — it is both a yardstick of foundry competitiveness and the financial break-even point for large-scale commercial supply. The key to this leap was Samsung's breakthrough in Thermal Compression Non-Conductive Film (TC-NCF) bonding, plus the stable base of its underlying 1c DRAM yield, already above 80%. In the same period, Samsung's HBM4E reliability test yield also broke 70%.

Industry assessments suggest SK Hynix's HBM4 yield has likewise entered the 80% range. The gap between the two giants in production quality is being rapidly erased.


2. Supply Map: SK Hynix Holds 60–70% of Rubin Allocation​

At a Seoul event on June 5, Jensen Huang publicly confirmed: Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron have all passed HBM4 certification for Vera Rubin — the first time three memory makers have simultaneously received public certification for the same platform.

But certification is just the "entry ticket" — allocation share is where the real voice lies:

Vendor2026 Rubin HBM4 Allocation (est.)Notes
SK Hynix60%–70%Based on HBM3/3E-era customer relationships and MR-MUF packaging
Samsung25%–30%Rapid share gains after yield leap
MicronRemainderLimited HBM4 exposure, relatively stable share

Counterpoint Research forecasts the 2026 HBM4 market as SK Hynix 54% / Samsung 28% / Micron 18%. Samsung has set staged catch-up targets: Q3 HBM4 revenue up 3× QoQ, HBM4 exceeding 60% of total HBM revenue in H2, and year-end overall HBM market share approaching 38%.


3. The Real Bottleneck: From Wafers to "Back-End Stacking"​

As front-end yield stabilizes, the rhythm of the AI accelerator supply chain no longer depends on "how many wafers can be made," but on the speed of back-end stacking, bonding, testing, and shipment.

  • Industry analysts rank HBM stacking as the second-most severe bottleneck in the AI chip supply chain, second only to TSMC's CoWoS advanced packaging capacity.
  • HBM accounts for roughly 25% of 2026 DRAM wafer output; each HBM wafer consumes about 3–4× the resources of a standard DRAM wafer (extra TSV and stacking steps), so every wafer redirected pulls 3–4 units of commodity memory off the spot market.
  • Samsung is considering relocating part of its legacy memory back-end lines (Cheonan, Onyang) to Vietnam to free up HBM back-end capacity — a side confirmation that back-end throughput is now the tightest link in the chain.

4. HBM4 Spec Snapshot: Generational Leap in Bandwidth and Efficiency​

SpecHBM4 (12-Hi / 16-Hi)HBM4E
Per-stack capacity36 GB / 48 GB—
Pin rate11.7–13.0 Gbps16 Gbps
Per-stack bandwidthup to 3.3 TB/sup to 3.6 TB/s
Bus width2048-bit—
Energy efficiency+40% vs HBM3E—
Thermal resistance / cooling+10% improvement / +30%—

Samsung HBM4 entered mass production in Feb 2026; its 11.7 Gbps pin rate already exceeds the 8 Gbps industry baseline required for Vera Rubin compatibility; HBM4E samples were first shipped to major customers on May 29.


5. Pricing Power Extends Into 2027: Supply Remains Tight Balance​

TrendForce judges that HBM suppliers' pricing power will run through 2027, because supply remains constrained:

  • 2027 HBM bit shipments are expected to grow 50%–60% YoY, but will still lag demand growth, keeping the market tight;
  • The industry already anticipates significant price increases;
  • For NVIDIA and AMD, a stronger Samsung means more supply options and more comfortable lead times — in a market where memory is the tightest link in AI servers, the mere existence of second and third suppliers is itself a buffer.

For entire racks, HBM cost is already the biggest driver: the Rubin Ultra rack carries an estimated price tag as high as $21 million, with HBM making up a substantial portion.


6. Lessons for China: HBM Export Controls Accelerate Domestic Iteration​

HBM is one of the core fronts of current AI chip controls. As the overseas HBM4 arms race intensifies, domestic HBM technology iteration is being pushed forward in sync — Huawei's Ascend roadmap has explicitly written "drive domestic HBM technology iteration" into its product cadence (the 950 series advances domestic HBM pairing, with the 960/970 series planned for gradual rollout in 2027–2028).

In the short term, HBM4 scarcity will directly transmit to the delivery cadence of Rubin / MI400; in the long term, whoever can lock in stable HBM4 supply holds the valve on 2027 AI compute expansion.

References​


This article is compiled from August 2026 public reports by TrendForce, Seoul Economic Daily, TechTimes, etc. HBM allocation shares and market shares are third-party estimates, not official vendor-confirmed data.

WAIC 2026 Recap: Huawei Atlas 950 SuperPoD Live Hardware Wins SAIL Grand Award, Domestic Compute Enters the "System-Level" Showdown

· 5 min read
Industry Research Team

The 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) was held July 17-20, 2026 at the Shanghai World Expo Center, themed "Intelligent Partners, Creating the Future Together." Over 1,100 companies showcased 3,000+ exhibits, with 300+ products debuting globally. For the compute-card industry, this concentrated review of domestic compute sent a clear signal: the competitive main line is shifting from "single-chip peak compute" to "SuperNode system-level effective compute."

1. Huawei Atlas 950 SuperPoD: live debut, wins SAIL grand award​

Huawei's Atlas 950 SuperPoD live hardware made its first public appearance at WAIC 2026, on-site carrying 16 compute cabinets with 1,024 Ascend cards total. With three system-level innovations — "ultra-wide bandwidth, ultra-low latency, unified memory addressing" — it stood out from hundreds of domestic and international entries to win the conference's top honor, the SAIL (Super AI Leader) Award.

Core parameters (confirmed on-site at WAIC)​

MetricAtlas 950 SuperPoD
Exhibited scale16 compute cabinets / 1,024 Ascend cards
Max interconnect scale8,192 Ascend NPU cards fully interconnected (full config)
Interconnect protocolHuawei in-house "Lingqu" (UnifiedBus) 2.0
Total compute1 EFLOPS FP8 / 2 EFLOPS FP4 (1,024 cards); full 8,192-card ~8 EFLOPS FP8
Unified memory256 TB globally unified memory address space
Interconnect latency3 μs ultra-low RTT; TB-level NPU interconnect bandwidth
Full config128 compute cabinets + 32 interconnect cabinets = 160 cabinets, ~1000㎡, carrying 8,192 Ascend 950DT
LaunchFull config planned for Q4 2026
CoolingFully liquid-cooled blind-plug architecture

Huawei disclosed for the first time: the previous-gen Ascend 384 SuperNode has cumulatively shipped 750+ units commercially, deployed across 20+ industries including internet, operators, finance, education, healthcare, transportation, and manufacturing, calling it "the only domestic SuperNode that has trained SOTA models."

2. Software ecosystem: CANN fully open-sourced, developers at scale​

Beyond hardware, Huawei highlighted open-source software ecosystem progress:

  • CANN heterogeneous compute architecture and MindSeries base software suite were fully open-sourced end of 2025;
  • The CANN open-source community has incubated 67 projects, 12.44M+ lines of code, with 3,500+ monthly active developers;
  • Huawei has co-developed 7,000+ solutions with 3,000+ industry partners, serving 2,000+ core government/enterprise customers;
  • WAIC showcased 60+ real business scenarios, 20+ benchmark cases, covering the full chain from technology breakthrough to scaled commercial deployment.

3. Domestic chips' Day-0 adaptation becomes routine​

On July 6, 2026, Tencent released the MoE model Hunyuan T3 (295B parameters, 256K context); domestic chips rapidly completed Day-0 adaptation:

VendorChipAdaptation status
Moore ThreadsMTT S5000Completed rapid Hunyuan T3 adaptation (previously adapted DeepSeek-V4, GLM-5.2)
MetaXXiyun C seriesIn-house MXMACA stack first to full-chain Day-0 adaptation, zero-code deployment

Moore Threads also showcased the MTT C256 SuperNode (first-of-its-kind single-layer Scale-up 256-card full interconnect, sub-microsecond latency) and three AI-factory solutions — "model training factory / token production factory / agent production factory."

4. More domestic compute debut highlights​

Vendor / productHighlight
Orient AlphaChip DF1000World's first "software-defined + near-memory computing" 3D chip, interconnect pitch compressed to sub-micron
ZhongHao XinYing "Xuyu"Fully in-house next-gen TPU-architecture AI-specific chip, with Taize 2.0 server
Enflame × IluvatarDomestic high-performance Matrix SuperNode based on OEX+dOCS architecture, shortlisted for the conference "Excellent AI Leader Award"
Rongming MicroelectronicsAdvancing next-gen VPU, evolving from video processing to "visual-agent compute base"

The domestic AI chip lineup also included Moore Threads, MetaX, Enflame, Houmo, Cixiong, Suaneng, SemiDrive, Phytium, Aixin, Iluvatar, and others.

Industry interpretation: from "can it be built" to "is it used well"​

WAIC 2026 reflects a fundamental shift in the competitive stage of domestic AI chips:

  1. SuperNode becomes the main battlefield: beyond single-chip performance, system-level capabilities — "inter-chip interconnect + cluster scale + cooling" — become the breakthrough key. Huawei Lingqu and Enflame/Iluvatar OEX are both pushing here. Huatai Securities defines 2026 as the "first year of domestic SuperNodes," estimating China's SuperNode architecture market could reach ¥341.4B by 2028, with 2026-2028 CAGR of 194%.
  2. Software ecosystem delivers: Day-0 adaptation has gone from slogan to routine; the "launch-and-adapt" closed loop between domestic large models (DeepSeek-V4, GLM-5.2, Hunyuan T3) and domestic chips is essentially formed.
  3. Demand-side endorsement: China Mobile earlier released its 2026-2027 AI SuperNode centralized procurement announcement — about 6,208 cards, over ¥2B — accelerating domestic SuperNode scaled commercialization.

References​


This article is compiled from WAIC 2026 (July 17-20) on-site and official disclosures, and will continuously track the 950 SuperNode Q4 launch.

AMD Advancing AI 2026 Opens Tomorrow: Three CDNA5 MI400 Models, Helios Rack Hits 3 exaFLOPS, OpenAI + Meta Lock 12GW Deal

· 4 min read
AI Hardware Analyst

AMD has confirmed its flagship AI event Advancing AI 2026 will be held July 22-23, 2026 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, with the keynote on July 23 hosted by Chair and CEO Lisa Su. The event will complete the Instinct MI400 series availability timeline, pricing, and independent benchmark data.

1. Instinct MI400 family: three CDNA 5 accelerators​

AMD fully revealed the MI400 matrix at CES 2026; all three accelerators use CDNA 5 architecture, TSMC 2nm process, differentiated by precision and scenario:

ModelPositioningKey specs
MI455X (flagship)Large-scale train/inference (rack-scale)320B transistors, 12 chiplets, 432 GB HBM4 (12×36GB), 19.6 TB/s, FP4 40 PFLOPS / FP8 20 PFLOPS
MI440X (enterprise)Local enterprise AI (8-card node)Low-precision AI (FP4/FP8/BF16), direct MI300/MI350 replacement, compatible with existing power/cooling
MI430X (HPC/sovereign AI)High-precision scientific computing + AIFull FP32/FP64, already deployed at Oak Ridge Discovery and France's first exascale Alice Recoque

MI455X and MI440X target low-precision AI (FP4/FP8/BF16); MI430X fills traditional HPC high-precision needs — improving energy efficiency and cost-performance by "trimming execution units by precision." All three support UALink (among the first accelerators compatible with the standard) and Infinity Fabric die-to-die interconnect; rack scaling uses Ultra Ethernet.

Lisa Su confirmed on the Q1 2026 earnings call: MI455X samples have been sent to core customers, with demand "exceeding the company's internal expectations for 2027."

2. Helios rack: 3 exaFLOPS per cabinet​

AMD enters the hyperscale market with the Helios rack-scale platform:

MetricHelios rack
Accelerators72 × MI455X
Aggregate HBM431 TB
Total memory bandwidth1.4 PB/s
Per-cabinet computeUp to 3 AI exaFLOPS (Q3 delivery target)
Target customersHyperscale train/inference clusters

Helios uses AMD's in-house Zen 6 EPYC Venice CPU (18 per rack) + Pensando Vulcano 800G NIC, integrated via the open ROCm software stack; AMD also plans a double-width 128-card Helios variant, pushing per-cabinet compute to the 3 AI exaFLOPS ceiling. Further out, the MI500 series (CDNA 6, 2nm, HBM4E) is planned for 2027, with official claims of up to 1000× AI performance vs MI300X.

3. 12GW deal: OpenAI + Meta dual endorsement​

AMD holds two historic-scale compute agreements totaling about 12 GW, with lifetime potential revenue possibly reaching $100B:

CustomerScaleFirst deploymentStructure
OpenAI6 GW (multi-gen products)First 1 GW, H2 2026 on MI450"compute-for-upside": up to 160M warrants, vesting by milestone and stock-price targets
Meta6 GWCustom MI450 chips, from H2 2026Deployed in next-gen data centers

Financial expectations​

Metric2026 forecast
MI400 series revenue~$7.2B (about 25% of data-center sales)
Data-center GPU revenue~$15B (up +114% YoY)
Total data-center revenuePossibly $28.7B (up +73% YoY)

⚠️ Execution risk: AMD has flagged that MI450's Q3 mass production will weigh on gross margin (new products below company average); advanced process and advanced packaging (TSMC CoWoS) capacity remain the main constraint.

Industry interpretation​

  1. CUDA moat being pried open: when companies building the world's largest training clusters — Meta, OpenAI — bet on AMD silicon, AMD's long-standing 5-7% GPU share ceiling is being broken.
  2. Memory advantage as differentiation: 432 GB HBM4 / 19.6 TB/s vs NVIDIA Rubin's 288 GB offers capacity advantage, critical for large-model inference (KV Cache-constrained scenarios).
  3. Tight benchmarking pace: MI450 and NVIDIA Vera Rubin both ramp in H2 2026, with the two giants competing head-on over HBM4 supply and CoWoS capacity.

References​


This article was written on the eve of Advancing AI 2026 (July 22-23, opening tomorrow); the keynote is July 23 hosted by Lisa Su, where MI400's final availability, pricing, and independent benchmarks will be revealed — we will update in sync.

NVIDIA Vera Rubin Officially Ships: First VR200 NVL72 Delivered, Samsung HBM4 Mass Production, Rubin Ultra Cabinet Sky-High Price

· 5 min read
Industry Research Team

July 2026, NVIDIA's next-gen AI compute platform Vera Rubin officially began its first shipments, succeeding the Blackwell architecture, with large-scale mass production planned for H2 2026. First customers include Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta, Oracle, and other large cloud providers.

1. World's First VR200 NVL72 Delivered (Milestone)​

CoreWeave jointly with Dell announced that the world's first NVIDIA Vera Rubin VR200 NVL72 cabinet has been officially delivered and passed the L11 full-cabinet hardware diagnostics on the first try. This marks Rubin's move from roadmap to physical product, with no major bottlenecks in core supply-chain links (HBM4, advanced packaging, liquid cooling, ultra-high-power power supply).

VR200 NVL72 Core Configuration​

MetricVera Rubin VR200 NVL72
Cabinet codenameOberon
GPU72 Rubin GPUs
CPU36 Vera CPUs
Per-GPU memory288 GB HBM4
Per-CPU memory1.5 TB LPDDR5X
Total cabinet HBM420.7 TB (20,736 GB)
Total cabinet LPDDR5X54 TB
InterconnectNVLink 6 full mesh
Inference performance~3.6 exaFLOPS class
CoolingLiquid cooling
Generational improvement~3.5× per-GPU compute, ~2.8× memory bandwidth (vs Blackwell)

Vera CPU integrates 88 custom Olympus ARM cores, with 1.8 TB/s interconnect to the GPU, usable as a GPU memory expansion pool. NVIDIA completed its first Vera CPU deliveries to Anthropic, OpenAI, xAI, and Oracle Cloud in May.

2. Samsung HBM4 Mass Production: Key Bottleneck Eases​

July 8, 2026, Samsung Electronics officially started HBM4 mass production for the Vera Rubin platform, with reported HBM4 mass-production yield reaching 70% (above the initial 60-65% expectation). Confirmation of this key supply-chain link clears obstacles for Rubin's large-scale deployment.

HBM Supply Landscape (2026 Q1)Share
SK hynix45%
Samsung40%
Micron15%

HBM4 uses 8-layer stacking (12-layer design planned for 2028), priced at about 2.8× HBM3e. TrendForce predicts HBM supply will grow 65% annually, with HBM4 reaching 35% of total output by 2027 Q4.

3. Rubin Ultra Sky-High Price: HBM Cost Dominates​

Per BofA Global Research estimates, the Rubin generation will push single-server cost to a new high:

Cost ItemRubin VR200 (Oberon)Comparison
Cabinet HBM4 usage20,736 GB—
HBM4 unit price~$18.40 / GBBlackwell (HBM3e) ~$11.26 / GB
HBM4 cost alone~$382KExcluding LPDDR5X
Rubin Ultra cabinet estimated price~$21MITHome / BofA estimate

4. Rubin Ultra Design Change: Original 4-die Cancelled (per SemiAnalysis)​

Semiconductor research firm SemiAnalysis (2026-06-30) disclosed that the original 4-die Rubin Ultra GPU unveiled at GTC 2026 has been cancelled; the version actually shipping in 2027 is roughly halved in scale and performance:

  • Reason for cancellation: The original integrated 4 compute dies + 16 HBM4E in a single CoWoS-L package; the substrate warped under the 4-die config, causing compute-die-to-substrate contact failure and yield collapse; the alternative CoPoS won't reach mass production until after late 2028, missing the 2027 node.
  • New approach: Changed to dual-die (same construction as standard Rubin) + HBM4E, ~384 GB HBM4E per GPU (higher than standard Rubin's 288 GB), but total compute and bandwidth only half the original; to approach the original's aggregate compute, NVIDIA plans to assemble "2+2" board-level configs within the Kyber rack to reach four-die equivalent scale.
  • Kyber rack delay: The companion Kyber NVL144 rack is delayed 12+ months to 2028 due to midplane PCB manufacturing difficulties; the 800V DC power scheme is likewise delayed to 2028.

⚠️ Note: NVIDIA has not commented officially on the above design change; some on X argue "the chip count hasn't changed, it's old news reheated." This section is compiled from SemiAnalysis public reports, subject to final NVIDIA disclosure. We have marked "specs pending official confirmation" on the Rubin Ultra preview card.

Industry Interpretation​

  1. "Never doubt" moment realized: Rubin's first delivery passed L11 on the first try, dispelling market doubts about "Rubin delay," locking in H2 2026 AI compute supply certainty ahead of time.
  2. Designed for Agentic AI: Rubin targets agentic workflows and ultra-long-context inference, further lowering the training/inference cost curve for trillion-parameter models.
  3. HBM is the full-chain winner: 20.7 TB HBM4 per cabinet is enormous usage; SK hynix, Samsung, Micron, advanced packaging (CoWoS-L), liquid cooling, and power retrofitting all benefit across the chain, while also becoming the biggest cost and capacity constraint.

References​


This article continuously tracks Vera Rubin mass-production ramp and HBM4 supply-chain dynamics.

June 2026 AI Chip Major Events Roundup: Ascend 910C Trains Trillion-Parameter Model, OpenAI Custom Chip, RTX Spark Launch

· 6 min read
Industry Research Team

June 2026 saw multiple milestone events in the AI chip field, marking acceleration of two major trends: "domestic substitution" and "de-NVIDIA-ization."

1. Huawei Ascend 910C Completes 1.6-Trillion-Parameter DeepSeek V4 Pro Training (2026-06-05)​

Event Overview​

June 5, 2026, Shenzhen Hetao College, together with Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen Big Data Research Institute, Huawei, and other teams, relied on an Ascend 910C domestic AI compute cluster to successfully complete full-parameter post-training of the 1.6-trillion-parameter DeepSeek V4 Pro large model.

Technical Significance​

MetricValue
Model parameters1.6 trillion
Training chipAscend 910C cluster
Training typeFull Parameter Post-Training
SignificanceFirst time domestic AI chips complete trillion-parameter-level model training

Industry Impact​

  1. Breaks technology blockade: Proves domestic AI chips can train trillion-parameter models
  2. Accelerates "farewell to NVIDIA": DeepSeek fully switches to Huawei Ascend, reducing dependence on H100
  3. Domestic substitution inflection point: From "inference substitution" to "training substitution"

2. OpenAI Launches First Custom AI Inference Chip Jalapeño (2026-06-24)​

Event Overview​

June 24, 2026, OpenAI and Broadcom jointly launched the first custom AI inference chip Jalapeño, with a design cycle of only 9 months (industry average 18 months), using TSMC 3nm process.

Key Metrics​

MetricJalapeñoComparison (Blackwell)
ProcessTSMC 3nmTSMC 4nm
ArchitectureSystolic ArrayBlackwell GPU
Design cycle9 months~18 months
Inference cost-50%Baseline
AI-assisted design✅ First❌ No
DeploymentEnd of 2026Shipped

Strategic Significance​

  1. First AI chip with AI-assisted design: OpenAI used models like GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark to assist architecture exploration
  2. Accelerates "de-NVIDIA-ization": Tech giants (Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, OpenAI) collectively develop custom chips
  3. Inference cost revolution: For OpenAI processing hundreds of millions of API calls daily, a 50% cost reduction is significant

3. NVIDIA Launches RTX Spark AI PC Superchip at Computex 2026 (2026-06-01)​

Event Overview​

June 1, 2026, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang launched the RTX Spark AI PC superchip at Computex 2026 / GTC Taipei, in collaboration with MediaTek, using an Arm CPU + Blackwell GPU unified-memory architecture.

Key Metrics​

MetricRTX Spark
CPUUp to 20-core Arm (with MediaTek)
GPU6,144 CUDA cores (Blackwell)
Unified memory128GB LPDDR5X (shared CPU+GPU)
Memory bandwidth300 GB/s
AI compute~1 PFLOPS (est.)
Model capacityCan run 120B-parameter models
ContextUp to 1 million tokens
TDP~100W (est.)
AvailabilityFall 2026

Industry Impact​

  1. NVIDIA enters PC chip market: Challenges Intel's dominance in personal computers
  2. New AI PC standard: Run 120B-parameter models locally, 1M-token context
  3. Windows transforms into AI Agent platform: Deep collaboration with Microsoft OpenShell framework

4. MIIT Publishes "2026 AI Chip Industry Development White Paper" (2026-06-09)​

Event Overview​

June 9, 2026, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published the "2026 AI Chip Industry Development White Paper," predicting the domestic AI chip market will exceed 200 billion RMB in 2026.

Key Predictions​

Metric2026 Prediction
Market sizeExceed 200 billion RMB
Domestic chip share>50% (41% in 2025)
Edge inference chipsSignificant progress
Shipment growthMore than double (vs 2025)

Industry Significance​

  1. Domestic AI chip capitalization accelerates: Cambricon, Enflame, Moore Threads, etc. accelerate IPOs
  2. Edge inference becomes the breakthrough: Easier to achieve domestic substitution than training chips
  3. Policy dividend continues: Domestic substitution upgraded from "market behavior" to "national strategy"

5. ByteDance in Talks to Procure 50K Iluvatar Inference Chips (2026-06-17)​

Event Overview​

June 17, 2026, Reuters reported that ByteDance is in talks with Shanghai AI chip firm Iluvatar to procure at least 50,000 AI chips, mainly for inference tasks.

Deal Details​

ItemContent
BuyerByteDance
SupplierIluvatar
Chip modelZhiKai series (inference GPU)
QuantityAt least 50,000
UseInference workloads
Training chipTianTai series

Industry Significance​

  1. Domestic GPU top player "adds a member": Iluvatar enters a top internet company's supply chain for the first time
  2. ByteDance 2026 capex raised over 200B RMB: Mainly for AI compute and datacenters
  3. "Domestic substitution" extends from government/SOEs to private tech giants

Trend 1: "Domestic Substitution" Moves from Inference to Training​

  • Ascend 910C completes 1.6-trillion-parameter model training → Proves domestic chips have training capability
  • DeepSeek fully switches to Ascend → Leading AI companies first to "farewell to NVIDIA"
  • ByteDance procures Iluvatar → Private tech giants follow

Trend 2: "De-NVIDIA-ization" from Slogan to Action​

  • OpenAI Jalapeño → First custom chip, inference cost -50%
  • Google TPU, Amazon Trainium, Microsoft Maia → Continuous iteration
  • Meta MTIA, Apple M5 Ultra → Increased investment

Trend 3: AI PC and Edge Inference Become New Battlefield​

  • NVIDIA RTX Spark → New AI PC standard, launches Fall 2026
  • Edge inference chip localization accelerates → Key mention in MIIT white paper
  • "Local trillion-parameter model execution" → New consumer market selling point

Looking Ahead (2026 H2)​

  1. Ascend 950DT full scale-up (2026 Q4) → Huawei's latest-gen training chip
  2. NVIDIA Rubin R200 shipment (2026 H2) → Next-gen flagship
  3. AMD MI400 Helios rack (2026 H2) → Targets NVIDIA GB200
  4. OpenAI Jalapeño deployment (end of 2026) → Gigawatt-scale datacenters
  5. Domestic AI chip shipments more than double → CITIC Securities prediction

References​


This article is continuously updated. Please provide the latest developments.