China’s InnoScience rises 31% after named as Nvidia supplier

[HONG KONG] Chinese chipmaker InnoScience Suzhou Technology Holding closed up 31 per cent in Hong Kong on Friday (Aug 1) after it was identified by Nvidia as a supplier.

Nvidia named InnoScience as a supplier for its 800V HVDC architecture on an updated silicon partner list on Thursday. The latest list, compared to an archived version from Jul 22, also shows Nvidia added Analog Devices, ON Semiconductor and Renesas Electronics as silicon suppliers for the new architecture to support growing power demand from AI infrastructure.

InnoScience is the only China-based company among those suppliers. The Suzhou-based company confirmed the partnership in a statement on Friday, saying it together with Nvidia can help achieve more efficient and greener computing. The company offers compound semiconductors used in power systems for a wide range of applications from autos to data centres, according to its website.

The chipmaker was founded by Luo Weiwei in 2015. Luo has a doctorate degree in applied mathematics from Massey University in New Zealand. Before InnoScience, she worked for Nasa for 15 years, according to trade group SEMI China. The company was listed in Hong Kong late last year.

Nvidia’s partnership with the Chinese chipmaker is notable as the global chip industry is becoming more fragmented. Washington has been trying to restrict China’s access to most cutting-edge AI silicons and chipmaking expertise, while Beijing has vowed to reduce reliance on foreign technologies.

The US has barred Nvidia from supplying its most advanced chips, the gold standards for AI computing, to China. Trump officials pledged to lift restrictions on Nvidia’s H20 chips, a product the US chipmaker customized for China to comply with US export controls, in July as part of a trade deal for Beijing to allow more sales of rare-Earth minerals needed to make a range of high-tech products.

However, China’s top Internet watchdog summoned Nvidia representatives earlier this week to discuss what Chinese officials deem as significant security risks in H20, signalling that Beijing may find the chip not to be a worthy offering as part of the trade agreement. Nvidia, meanwhile, said it has not installed “backdoors” in its products. BLOOMBERG