BEIJING/SHANGHAI, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Baidu (9888.HK) ordered artificial intelligence chips from Huawei (HWT.UL) this year, two people familiar with the matter said, adding to signs that U.S. pressure is prompting Chinese acceptance of the firm's products as an alternative to Nvidia's.

Although Huawei's Ascend chips are still seen as far inferior to Nvidia's in terms of performance, the first source said they were the most sophisticated domestic option available in China.

In August, the two companies said they would deepen compatibility between Baidu’s Ernie AI model and Huawei’s Ascend chips.

Analysts predicted last month that the U.S. curbs would create an opening for Huawei to expand in its $7 billion home market.

The order adds to signs of technological advances for Huawei, as Beijing pours investment into its domestic semiconductor industry to help it catch up with overseas peers and urges state-owned firms to replace foreign technology with domestic alternatives.

In September, Reuters reported that Huawei's in-house chip design unit, HiSilicon, had commenced shipments of newly developed Chinese-made processors for surveillance cameras to clients in 2023 in another comeback sign.

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