Nvidia’s share of China’s data-centre AI chip market fell to 34% in the first half of 2026, while Huawei rose to 28%, according to IDC figures reported by Reuters. Why it matters: US export controls are reshaping the world’s second-largest AI chip market, and Chinese makers are taking the share Nvidia cannot ship into.
October 13, 2026 — IDC data seen by Reuters put hard numbers on a shift Nvidia has warned about for months: fewer Nvidia accelerators are reaching China, and domestic rivals are filling the gap.
What do the numbers show?
Nvidia shipped 678,000 AI accelerators in China from January through June — down 44% from a year earlier — for a 34% share of the data-centre market. Huawei shipped 572,000 accelerators, up from more than 300,000 a year earlier, giving it a 28% share.
Behind them came Alibaba’s chip unit T-Head at 7%, Cambricon at 5%, Baidu’s Kunlunxin at 4% and Hygon at 3%. Nine of the 11 Chinese chipmakers IDC tracked increased shipments year on year. Total accelerator shipments reached about 2.008 million units in the half.
The mix changed as well as the vendors. GPU shipments fell 26% to 991,000 units, while other accelerator types — chips built for specific AI tasks, such as running trained models — rose nearly 80% to about 1.016 million units, overtaking GPUs by volume. Huawei, T-Head, Kunlunxin and Cambricon together accounted for 95% of that non-GPU segment, which IDC said is being adopted by government agencies, internet companies and telecoms providers.
What is driving the shift?
Washington has restricted China’s access to Nvidia’s most powerful chips, limiting what the company can legally sell there, while Beijing has promoted domestic alternatives and required Chinese firms to seek approval to import compliant Nvidia products. IDC did not specify which Nvidia products made up the 34% figure, or whether it included top-end chips that are barred from export but have been smuggled in. Nvidia did not respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.
Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has repeatedly criticised the export curbs, arguing they hand China’s roughly $50 billion AI chip market to Huawei.
Why it matters
This is no longer a forecast — it is shipment data. IDC expects China’s total accelerator shipments to grow 19% this year even as GPU shipments fall 9%, and it says competition is shifting from single-chip performance to whole-system capability. For buyers and builders, that means the Chinese AI stack is becoming a real, scaled alternative rather than a fallback, with consequences for pricing, software ecosystems and supply chains well beyond China. Tested, in this case, by the market itself.
Frequently asked questions
What is Nvidia’s share of China’s AI chip market now?
34% in the first half of 2026, according to IDC figures reported by Reuters, with 678,000 accelerators shipped — down 44% year on year.
How close is Huawei?
Huawei held 28% with 572,000 accelerators shipped, up from more than 300,000 a year earlier — a gap of six percentage points behind Nvidia.
Why are non-GPU accelerators growing so fast?
Shipments rose nearly 80% as eligible GPU supply stayed limited. These task-specific chips are being adopted by government agencies, internet companies and telecoms providers in China.
Sources: Reuters (reporting IDC data)