Huawei Unveils Competitive AI Chip Roadmap; Ascend 950PR Set to Include Self-Built HBM with Launch Targeted for Q1 2026

Huawei is poised to intensify competition within the domestic tech landscape by launching advanced AI chips, as detailed in their ambitious roadmap that extends through 2028.

Huawei’s AI Chip Roadmap: Major Enhancements in Computing Power Until 2028

Recognized as a frontrunner in China’s tech industry, Huawei is actively developing high-performance, domestic AI chips that are designed to rival industry giants like NVIDIA’s H20. Central to their strategic vision is a commitment to creating an entirely in-house technology ecosystem. According to a report from MyDrivers unveiled at Huawei Connect 2025, the company has ambitious plans for a range of AI chips slated for release by 2027, focusing on self-developed innovations.

Huawei Ascend chip timeline presentation listing models with release dates. — Huawei AI chip roadmap | Image Credits: Huawei

Leading the charge is the upcoming Ascend 950PR, a successor to the Ascend 910C, which marks Huawei’s first venture into proprietary high-bandwidth memory (HBM) technology. This chip aims to support low-precision data formats, enabling computation up to 1 PFLOPS for FP8 and 2 PFLOPS for FP4 with a notable interconnect bandwidth of 2 TB/s.

Huawei is set to implement its innovative ‘HiBL 1.0’ HBM technology in the 950PR, boasting a capacity of 128GB along with an impressive bandwidth of 1.6TB/s. In addition, the company is developing a second-generation HBM, named ‘HiZQ 2.0’, which will enhance capabilities to 144GB capacity and 4TB/s bandwidth. The Ascend 950PR is primarily designed for inference applications, optimizing tasks related to recommendations and prefilling.

Ascend chip roadmap presented on stage, displaying model specifications and release timelines. — Image Credits: Huawei

In addition to the 950PR, Huawei is also launching the Ascend 950DT, which is targeted for release in the fourth quarter of 2026. This chip emphasizes training capabilities and will utilize the enhanced HiZQ 2.0 memory system, featuring greater bandwidth and memory capacity compared to its predecessor. Furthermore, Huawei has announced plans for the Ascend 960, set to debut in Q4 2027, with a staggering 2.2 TB/s interconnect bandwidth, 288 GB memory (likely utilizing HiZQ 2.0), and a compute performance of 2 PFLOPS for FP8 and 4 PFLOPS for FP4 — signifying significant advancements in processing power.

By the year 2028, the anticipated Ascend 970 is expected to introduce substantial upgrades in both memory and compute capabilities, ensuring that Huawei is well-equipped to address the evolving computing demands of China’s future.

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