The CEO of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, managed to negotiate a major concession from the Trump administration concerning the export of the company’s H20 artificial intelligence Chips in China. As NPR reported, the breakthrough came after a private dinner with American president Donald Trump in Mar-A-Lago, during which Huang would have promised substantial investments in AI infrastructure based in the United States.
Context on NVIDIA H20 Chip restrictions
The H20 chip, the most advanced IA processor in Nvidia legally available in China under American export controls, was at the center of a debate of several months. The Trump administration had planned to strengthen restrictions on exporting the chip to Chinese companies, citing national security problems. The proposed repression, which was ready to be implemented this week, would have had a significant impact on the activities of Nvidia in China, where the chip H20 demand increased.
Mar-A-Lago dinner and its result
During dinner, Huang assured Nvidia’s commitment to strengthen AI capacities by investing in national data centers. This promise seems to have influenced the administration’s decision to retreat to the expected restrictions. The White House has since interrupted its plans, allowing Nvidia to continue exporting the H20 chip to China.
The decision launched mixed reactions. While NVIDIA’s actions jumped after the announcement, some legislators criticized this decision, arguing that it compromises efforts to limit China’s access to AI AI AIDANCE. Chinese companies, including Bytedance, Alibaba and Tencent, have already placed important orders for the H20 chip.