Ascend chips

Huawei has partnered with Chinese AI firm DeepSeek to release an open-source programming software toolkit optimised for Huawei's Ascend chips. DeepSeek said the toolkit is free to use and includes the TileLang platform, giving developers optimised tools for building AI applications on Ascend hardware. The move is being read as another step in China's effort to build a domestic AI stack independent of US chip and software ecosystems.

Huawei rotating chairman Eric Xu said the company's Ascend AI accelerators have overtaken Nvidia in sales and market share in China. The claim highlights how US export restrictions on Nvidia's most advanced chips have opened space for domestic Chinese alternatives, and it will fuel debate over whether Huawei's figures reflect actual deployment or stockpiling and planned capacity rather than real usage.

DeepSeek has released open-source software enabling its AI models to run on Huawei's Ascend chips, a move read as China's AI sector rallying around domestic semiconductor alternatives to Nvidia. The release highlights growing efforts to build a self-sufficient AI hardware and software stack in China amid ongoing US export restrictions on advanced chips.

Chinese AI firm DeepSeek and Huawei have opened up programming tools for Huawei's Ascend AI chips, making the technology accessible to outside developers. The move is seen as a step toward building a domestic AI software ecosystem around Chinese hardware, reducing reliance on Nvidia's CUDA stack amid ongoing US export restrictions. Details on the exact terms of the release remain limited.