Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, announced that the company has received approval from the Trump administration to resume sales of its H20 computer chips used for artificial intelligence (AI) development to China.
Approval was conveyed through a company blog post and was followed by a surge in Nvidia’s stock value by over 4% midday Tuesday.
The big picture: Huang mentioned on China’s state-run CGTN television network that the U.S. government has greenlighted filing licenses for shipping H20s to China and expressed the company’s eagerness to commence deliveries soon.
- The CEO highlighted the significance of the Chinese market, which hosts half of the world’s AI researchers, and emphasized the importance for American companies to compete and cater to this dynamic and innovative sector.
Go deeper: Nvidia’s H20 graphics processing unit (GPU) is an advanced AI chip developed to comply with U.S. export restrictions for AI chips to China, although it is less powerful than the company’s top semiconductors currently off-limits to the Chinese market.
- The U.S. has tightened controls on exporting advanced technology to China due to concerns regarding potential military applications, and in January, the Biden administration introduced a new framework for exporting advanced computer chips to balance national security and economic interests.
- The restrictions on sales of advanced chips to China play a crucial role in the AI race between the U.S. and China, with proponents arguing for the necessity of slowing down China to maintain U.S. technological superiority, while opponents see potential loopholes and opportunities for innovation.
- Last April, the White House imposed restrictions on sales of Nvidia’s H20 chips to China, citing national security reasons, and the company estimated this would cost an additional $5.5 billion. However, Nvidia lobbied the Trump administration to reverse these restrictions, and the recent approval signals the success of these efforts.
