Nvidia denies China joint venture report after CEO's whirlwind visit to Beijing, Shanghai
Artificial intelligence (AI) chip supplier Nvidia has denied a report that it is planning to set up a Chinese joint venture to maintain its business presence on the mainland, as it copes with US export restrictions on its graphics processing units (GPUs).
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Taiwanese tech media Digitimes reported on Monday that Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang was considering establishing a joint venture in mainland China to maintain the operations of the company's CUDA computing platform, as well as other business interests in the country, which contributed US$17.1 billon in company revenues in the previous financial year.
An Nvidia representative denied the report on Tuesday. 'There is no basis whatsoever for any of these claims,' the person told the Post, adding that it was 'irresponsible to publish baseless claims and speculation as fact'.
The denial of joint venture plans by Nvidia comes as the US chip giant is trying to navigate its way through an intensifying US-China tech war. On the one hand, Nvidia is trying to maintain Chinese sales and fend off competition from the mainland, while on the other hand it has to comply with US regulations that restrict exports of advanced chips to China.
Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng (left) met with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on April 18, 2025. Photo: Handout
Huang made a surprise visit to China earlier this month after its H20 AI chips, which were tailor-made for Chinese clients to comply with previous export rules, were banned from sale to China under tighter rules applied by Washington. Before the trip, the company disclosed that the H20 China ban would
cost it US$5.5 billion
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