Latest news with #ArtificialIntelligenceDiffusionRule
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Nvidia expects to lose billions in revenue due to H20 chip licensing requirements
As Nvidia reports earnings for the first quarter of its fiscal year 2026, which closed on April 28, the company has released numbers on how the Trump administration's recent chip export restrictions are affecting business. Nvidia reported that it incurred a $4.5 billion charge in Q1 due to licensing requirements impacting its ability to sell its H20 AI chip to companies in China. The chipmaker also reported that it was unable to ship an additional $2.5 billion of H20 revenue in the quarter due to the restrictions. When the U.S. licensing requirement was originally announced in April, the company said that it expected $5.5 billion in related charges for Q1. Nvidia also said Wednesday that the H20 licensing requirements will result in an $8 billion hit to the company's revenue in Q2, which is predicted to be around $45 billion — a significant toll. The company has been outspoken against the Trump administration's push to limit the export of U.S.-made AI chips to countries including China. Huang praised the administration's recent decision to scrap Joe Biden's Artificial Intelligence Diffusion Rule that would have imposed further chip export restrictions. Despite Biden's chip export rules not coming to bear, Nvidia is clearly not immune to the Trump administration's attempt to stifle China's AI market. TechCrunch will update this story as we learn more. This article originally appeared on TechCrunch at Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Hindu
19-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Apple's Alibaba AI controversy; Meta delays release of Behemoth LLM; Trump rescinds Biden's AI Diffusion Rule
Apple's Alibaba AI controversy Apple is reportedly facing scrutiny from the U.S. White House and senior executives in the government over a deal for Apple to support Chinese tech giant Alibaba's AI offerings in iPhones that are sold in China, reported The New York Times. While the Chinese administration is reluctant to let its users access U.S. chatbots, the U.S. government is concerned that Apple will have to comply with Chinese censorship orders and data sharing laws when it enters into an agreement with Alibaba. Apple is also facing pressure to move iPhone manufacturing out of China and to the U.S., with U.S. President Donald Trump also criticising Apple's plans to manufacture iPhones in India. Apart from this, Apple's rollout of its own AI-enhanced Siri has been fraught with delays and tension, with iPhone buyers expressing their anger over the unfulfilled promises. Alibaba confirmed a partnership with Apple back in February, and the two tech giants have not yet responded to the report in a formal capacity. The deal with Apple is especially significant for Alibaba, since it looks to gain an advantage as firms such as DeepSeek and Baidu work on releasing their own AI chatbots and large language models. Meta delays release of Behemoth LLM Meta is delaying the planned release of its Behemoth large language model as experts working on the offering are not certain whether it was improved enough to warrant a formal release to the public, reported The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources. Llama 4 Behemoth, which was reportedly scheduled to release in April in time for the LlamaCon AI conference, was instead pushed to June, and is now expected in the fall or even later, according to the outlet. Meta is yet to officially confirm or deny the reports. Meta had praised Behemoth's power and capacity, claiming that it is 'one of the smartest LLMs in the world.' However, Meta did go on to release the Llama 4 Scout and Llama 4 Maverick AI models, and also announced a Meta AI app. As Big Tech companies in the U.S. compete against each other and race to release new models with improved knowledge bases and advanced coding, mathematical, or natural language capabilities, customers have often questioned if companies are making enough substantial enhancements before announcing their next AI product launch. Trump rescinds Biden's AI Diffusion Rule The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) has formally rescinded the Biden administration's 'Artificial Intelligence Diffusion Rule,' with the decision coming during a tense trading dispute between the U.S. and China over tariffs. The 'Artificial Intelligence Diffusion Rule' operated on the basis of a tier-system that classified how much access to American AI technology both allies and hostile states could receive, but it was criticised for implementing widespread restrictions on exporting U.S.-made AI chips. The Trump government, meanwhile, will likely go for a more case-by-case approach to ensure that ally states are able to benefit from American AI technology while hostile countries will mostly be cut out. Furthermore, the DOC warned that using Huawei's Ascend AI chips anywhere globally violates U.S. export rules. U.S. technologists and lawmakers are working together in order to track the possible smuggling of U.S.-manufactured AI chips into China, where they fear the chips are being used to develop competing AI models for companies such as Baidu, DeepSeek, and Alibaba.
The Hindu
17-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
The AI arms race gets personal
Artificial Intelligence and tariffs have become the pivotal battlegrounds in the escalating rivalry between the United States and China, and the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) redrew a significant line of engagement this week by formally rescinding the Biden administration's 'Artificial Intelligence Diffusion Rule', mere days before its May 15th effective date. The rescission signals a strategic pivot in how America intends to wage this high-stakes tech war. This manoeuvre, set against the persistent drumbeat of the US-China tariff disputes, casts a long shadow of uncertainty and opportunity over tech companies and global supply chains desperately trying to navigate the fight for AI supremacy. The now-axed 'Artificial Intelligence Diffusion Rule,' introduced under former President Joe Biden in January, was a complex attempt to manage the global proliferation of advanced AI chips and, by extension, AI capabilities. The stated aim, per a White House press release, was to 'provide clarity to allied and partner nations' and streamline chip licensing. Critically, however, it established new, widespread restrictions on exporting U.S.-made AI chips. Biden's framework was essentially a global triage system. Closest allies like Japan and South Korea were largely spared. Adversaries, notably China and Russia, already under tight restrictions for advanced AI chips, faced even tougher limitations, especially concerning sophisticated 'closed' AI models. The most significant impact was on a vast third tier of nations like Israel and Mexico. These nations would have faced caps on AI chip imports (reportedly around 50,000 GPUs each, with avenues for increase), a measure explicitly designed to prevent China and Russia from sourcing critical technology through them. Industry giants like Nvidia voiced strong opposition, calling the proposed rules 'unprecedented and misguided' and warning they would 'derail' global innovation. This regulatory structure was intended to build on previous guidance from October 2022 and October 2023. The Trump administration has decisively swept this tiered system aside. The DOC's announcement of the revocation included plans for a 'replacement rule in the future, likely focusing on direct negotiations with countries as opposed to blanket restrictions,' according to a Bloomberg report. This reflects a different philosophy of engagement as the U.S. Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, Jeffrey Kessler, declared, 'The Trump Administration will pursue a bold, inclusive strategy to American AI technology with trusted foreign countries around the world, while keeping the technology out of the hands of our adversaries.' He didn't mince words, labelling the Biden approach an 'ill-conceived and counterproductive' imposition. Instead of Biden's broad rulebook, the DOC issued immediate, pointed guidance: a stark reminder that using Huawei's Ascend AI chips anywhere globally violates U.S. export rules; a caution about the dire consequences of allowing U.S. AI chips to be used in training AI models within China; and recommendations for fortifying chip supply chains against diversion tactics. This indicates a preference for direct, forceful interventions and targeting specific entities and practices rather than implementing a complex, universal regulatory scheme. New battle tactics This shift in AI export control is more a change in battlefield tactics than a retreat from the strategic objectives. Both administrations share the core goal: cementing U.S. dominance in AI and critically, preventing China from leveraging advanced technology to surpass American military and economic power. Biden's strategy aimed to manage AI diffusion through a systematic, if cumbersome, international framework. The Trump administration seems to be gearing up for a more flexible, arguably more aggressive and transactional engagement, relying on bespoke agreements and sharp, punitive actions against those, like Huawei, deemed central to the adversary's capabilities. The explicit condemnation of using US AI chips to train models in China underscores this direct confrontational stance. The rhetoric of a 'bold, inclusive strategy with trusted foreign countries' hints at a different approach to alliance-building in this tech conflict, but the unwavering focus on keeping advanced tech from 'adversaries' shows the underlying contest with China remains paramount. The economic front in the AI war This recalibration of AI export controls cannot be viewed in isolation. It is intrinsically linked to the ongoing tariff war, another major front in the US-China battle. Significant tariffs, initiated under the previous Trump administration and largely continued by Biden, were already a defining feature of the economic landscape. U.S. Tariffs on Chinese goods, and retaliatory Chinese tariffs on U.S. products, have directly impacted the tech sector by increasing the cost of components, servers, and finished goods essential for AI development and infrastructure. In the current term, Mr. Trump has further solidified the hard line on China, deploying tariffs as a coercive tool in trade and technology negotiations. Apart from tariffs, the current administration has increased compliance on chipmakers. Most recently, Nvidia was required to go through a licensing route to ship its H20 GPUs to China. The AI chip was a dumbed-down version of the powerful H100 and H200 GPUs that were tailor-made for China. This type of policy shift creates a dual pressure point for the tech industry: restricted access to and movement of AI technology, compounded by the increased financial burden of tariffs. Tech companies are, in essence, navigating a minefield where both the AI know-how and the hardware it runs on are subject to intense geopolitical manoeuvring and economic warfare. Navigating the new battleground For tech companies and their global supply chains, this integrated battlefront of AI controls and tariffs signals continued, if not amplified, turbulence. In the near term adapting to ambiguity will be important as geopolitics move from a defined set of rules to a future that is based on direct negotiations. While some may find new avenues through bespoke agreements, the lack of a clear, universal framework makes strategic planning challenging. Secondly, countries previously in Biden's 'third tier' might perceive an opening, but they will also likely face intensified diplomatic and economic pressure as the U.S. prosecutes its 'trusted partner' strategy in the shadow of the overarching US-China rivalry. Looking to the long term, the intertwined forces of AI export controls and tariffs will likely compel companies to de-risk and diversify their supply chains. 'Friend-shoring' and regionalisation efforts will intensify as businesses seek to insulate themselves from the fallout of this battle. This could lead to increasingly separate tech ecosystems and a more splintered technological world. As these ecosystems evolve, China will only accelerate its already massive investment in domestic AI capabilities—from semiconductor design and manufacturing to foundational AI models. The U.S. trade policies are acting as a catalyst for China's self-reliance drive even as a U.S. foreign policy increasingly built on direct deals for technology access will likely trigger a more dynamic and competitive scramble among nations to align themselves strategically, caught between the technological gravity of Washington and Beijing. This shift in U.S. AI export policy is not a standalone event but a tactical adjustment on this sprawling battlefield. While the objective of ensuring American AI leadership and containing China's technological advance remains unchanged, for the global tech industry, this means bracing for continued geopolitical turbulence where innovation, market access, and supply chain integrity are all caught in the crosshairs of this superpower contest.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump administration officially rescinds Biden's AI diffusion rules
After a week or so of rumors, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) formally rescinded the Biden administration's Artificial Intelligence Diffusion Rule days before it was set to go into effect. The Artificial Intelligence Diffusion Rule, which was introduced by former president Joe Biden in January and set to come into force on May 15, introduced limits on exporting U.S.-made AI chips to many countries for the first time while bolstering existing restrictions. On Tuesday, the DOC announced that it instructed staff not to enforce the Biden-era regulation. The DOC plans to issue a replacement rule in the future, likely focusing on direct negotiations with countries as opposed to blanket restrictions, according to reporting from Bloomberg. Biden's proposed rule divided the world's countries into three tiers, with each tier having its own level of restrictions. Tier 1 countries, like Japan and South Korea, would have continued to face no export restrictions; Tier 2 regions, which included countries like Mexico and Portugal, would have seen chip export limits for the first time; and Tier 3 countries, like China and Russia, would have had to contend with tightened controls. In lieu of new regulations, the DOC on Tuesday released some guidance for the industry. It reminded companies that using Huawei's Ascend AI chips anywhere in the world violates U.S. export rules, warned about the potential consequences of letting U.S. AI chips be used to train AI models in China, and recommended ways to protect chip supply chains from diversion tactics. 'The Trump Administration will pursue a bold, inclusive strategy to American AI technology with trusted foreign countries around the world, while keeping the technology out of the hands of our adversaries," U.S. Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Jeffrey Kessler said in a statement. "At the same time, we reject the Biden Administration's attempt to impose its own ill-conceived and counterproductive AI policies on the American people." This article originally appeared on TechCrunch at Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
TechCrunch
13-05-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Trump administration officially rescinds Biden's AI diffusion rules
After a week or so of rumors, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) formally rescinded the Biden Administration's Artificial Intelligence Diffusion Rule days before it was set to go into effect. The Artificial Intelligence Diffusion Rule, which was introduced by former president Joe Biden in January and set to come into force on May 15, introduced U.S.-made AI chip export limits to many countries for the first time while bolstering existing restrictions. On Tuesday, the DOC announced that it instructed staff not to enforce the Biden-era regulation. The DOC plans to issue a replacement rule in the future, likely focusing on direct negotiations with countries as opposed to blanket restrictions, according to reporting from Bloomberg. Biden's proposed rule divided the world's countries into three tiers, with each tier having its own level of restrictions. Tier 1 countries, like Japan and South Korea, would have continued to face no export restrictions, while Tier 2 regions, which included countries like Mexico and Portugal, would have seen chip export limits for the first time. Tier 3 countries, like China and Russia, would have had to contend with tightened controls. In lieu of new regulations, the DOC on Tuesday released some guidance for the industry. It reminded companies that using Huawei's Ascend AI chips anywhere in the world violates U.S. export rules, warned about the potential consequences of letting U.S. AI chips be used to train AI models in China, and recommended ways to protect chip supply chains from diversion tactics. 'The Trump Administration will pursue a bold, inclusive strategy to American AI technology with trusted foreign countries around the world, while keeping the technology out of the hands of our adversaries,' U.S. Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Jeffery Kessler said in a statement. 'At the same time, we reject the Biden Administration's attempt to impose its own ill-conceived and counterproductive AI policies on the American people.'
