Huawei is accelerating its push into the AI semiconductor space, outlining a 3-year roadmap focused on expanding its Ascend chip family and strengthening computing capabilities.
Despite ongoing challenges, including U.S. restrictions, the company has continued to build its AI chip ecosystem using relatively basic components compared to competitors like Nvidia and TSMC. Huawei says computing power remains central to its strategy as it aims to grow its AI infrastructure both in China and globally.
As part of its roadmap, Huawei plans to introduce 3 new chip series—Ascend 950, Ascend 960, and Ascend 970—over the next few years.
The Ascend 950 series includes the 950PR and 950DT variants. One version has already been introduced through the Atlas 350. The 950PR focuses on prefill and recommendation tasks, while the 950DT is designed for decoding and model training.
The Ascend 950DT features 144GB memory, 4TB/s memory bandwidth, and 2TB/s interconnect bandwidth. It supports multiple data formats including FP8, MXFP8, XMFp4, and HiF8, enabling efficient handling of both inference and training workloads. The 950PR was unveiled in September 2025, while the 950DT is expected in Q4 2026.
Looking ahead, Huawei plans to launch the Ascend 960 in 2027. This chip is expected to deliver 2x improvements in computing power, memory capacity, bandwidth, and interconnect capabilities. It will also support the HiF4 data format, enhancing 4-bit precision performance beyond current FP4 solutions.
The Ascend 970 series is scheduled for release in Q4 2028. Huawei aims to double computing power for FP4 and FP8, double interconnect bandwidth, and increase memory access performance by at least 1.5x.
The roadmap highlights Huawei’s long-term ambition to build a strong AI chip ecosystem and compete more aggressively in the global semiconductor market.
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