Huawei is transitioning its Ascend AI accelerators from SIMD to SIMT+SIMD architecture to improve hardware utilization. The current Ascend 950 platform, including Atlas 950 SuperPoD systems, is in commercial use, though production capacity remains constrained.
The company has accelerated its roadmap for the upcoming Ascend 960 series. The Ascend 960DT is now scheduled for release in Q1 2027, three quarters earlier than planned. It will feature 2 FP8 PFLOPS, 4 FP4 PFLOPS, 288 GB of memory, and 9.6 TB/s bandwidth.
The Ascend 960PR is set for Q3 2027, one quarter ahead of schedule. It offers 8 FP4 PFLOPS for inference, doubling previous expectations. This model includes 192 GB of memory with 2.4 TB/s bandwidth and a 2.2-TB/s interconnect.
Huawei plans to maintain a one-generation-per-year release cycle. The Ascend 970 is expected in 2028 with 14 FP4 PFLOPS, followed by the Ascend 980 in 2029, which targets 28 FP4 PFLOPS and 384 GB of memory.
