Nvidia shares fell about 1% on October 13, 2026 after an IDC report seen by Reuters showed the company’s share of China’s data-centre AI chip market slipped to 34% in the first half of 2026. Nvidia shipped 678,000 AI accelerators in China from January through June, down 44% from a year earlier.
Huawei shipped 572,000 accelerators, up from more than 300,000 a year ago, and now holds 28% of the market. Other Chinese suppliers also gained ground: Alibaba’s T-Head held 7%, Cambricon 5%, Baidu’s Kunlunxin 4% and Hygon 3%. IDC data showed non-GPU accelerators outnumbered GPUs by volume for the first time in China, reaching 1.016 million units, while GPU shipments fell 26% to 991,000 units.
Washington’s export curbs have limited China’s access to Nvidia’s most powerful AI chips, while Beijing has promoted local alternatives and required approval before importing Nvidia chips that meet US rules. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has previously criticized the curbs, saying they hand China’s $50 billion AI chip market to Huawei. IDC expects China’s total accelerator shipments to rise 19% this year, while GPU shipments are forecast to fall 9%.
The semiconductor selloff widened in Tuesday’s premarket trading. AMD and Nvidia both slipped after four consecutive declines, while Intel briefly edged higher before reversing lower. Investors are becoming less willing to reward technical announcements before they generate purchase orders. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 2.7% on Monday, and the US 10-year Treasury yield remaining above 5% has increased financing costs and reduced the present value of future growth. Marc Velan of Lucerne Asset Management said markets are entering the next phase of the AI cycle, with greater focus on monetisation and returns on invested capital.
