Nvidia's share of China's data-center AI chip market fell to 34% in the first half of 2026, according to an IDC report. Huawei rose to 28%, and non-GPU accelerators outsold GPUs by volume for the first time.
Nvidia still sells more AI chips in China than any other company, but its share of the data-center AI chip market dropped to 34% in the first half of 2026. The figure comes from an IDC report highlighted by Reuters on October 13. Huawei climbed to 28% over the same period.
Nvidia shipments fall 44%
Nvidia shipped 678,000 units into China in the first half of 2026, a 44% drop from the same period a year earlier. The research attributes much of the decline to US export controls on advanced AI chips, which restrict which Nvidia products can reach Chinese buyers.
Huawei moved the other way. It delivered 572,000 units, up from just over 300,000 a year before, leaving it about six percentage points behind Nvidia. Total shipments across China's AI accelerator market reached 2.008 million units.
Domestic rivals gain ground
Huawei was not alone. IDC tracks eleven Chinese vendors, and nine reported year-over-year growth in shipments. Alibaba's chip unit T-Head held 7% of the market, Cambricon took 5%, Baidu's Kunlunxin claimed 4% and Hygon accounted for 3%.
Chip type shifted too. Non-GPU accelerators, such as ASICs and NPUs, outsold GPUs by volume for the first time in China. Non-GPU shipments jumped nearly 80% to 1.016 million units, while GPU shipments fell 26% to 991,000 units.
Beijing's policy adds to the pressure
Beijing's own policy shift toward domestic AI chip production is the second force at work. China has made AI self-sufficiency a priority, and that push has supported local brands such as Huawei.
Nvidia remains the largest supplier at 34%, but the gap with Huawei is narrow enough that the ranking could flip if current trends continue.
Source: Crypto Briefing
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