Huawei Technologies has launched its Atlas 960 SuperPoD computing cluster and an upgraded UnifiedBus interconnect at the Huawei Connect 2026 conference in Shanghai. The system is powered by Ascend 960 chips and claims 2.3 times better training performance and 2.5 times better inference performance for models with 10 trillion parameters compared with the earlier Atlas 950 SuperPoD. For the first time Huawei has introduced near-packaged optics into the SuperPoD architecture. Combined with UnifiedBus and the Hi-ONE optical system, a single SuperPoD can connect as many as 4,000 processors and push high-speed optical links deeper into the computing system. The company also outlined plans to release the Ascend 970 and 980 chip series in 2028 and 2029. The rapid one-year upgrade from the previous SuperPoD has drawn analyst attention amid ongoing US semiconductor restrictions and China’s push for greater technological self-reliance in AI infrastructure.
Huawei Technologies has launched its Atlas 960 SuperPoD computing cluster and an upgraded UnifiedBus interconnect at the Huawei Connect 2026 conference in Shanghai. The system is powered by Ascend 960 chips and claims 2.3 times better training performance and 2.5 times better inference performance for models with 10 trillion parameters compared with the earlier Atlas 950 SuperPoD. For the first time Huawei has introduced near-packaged optics into the SuperPoD architecture. Combined with UnifiedBus and the Hi-ONE optical system, a single SuperPoD can connect as many as 4,000 processors and push high-speed optical links deeper into the computing system. The company also outlined plans to release the Ascend 970 and 980 chip series in 2028 and 2029. The rapid one-year upgrade from the previous SuperPoD has drawn analyst attention amid ongoing US semiconductor restrictions and China’s push for greater technological self-reliance in AI infrastructure.