Latest news with #H20s
The Star
20 hours ago
- Business
- The Star
Nvidia says it will resume sales of 'H20' AI chips to China
China represents a crucial market for Nvidia, but recent US export restrictions have intensified competition from local players like homegrown champion Huawei. — Photo by I-HWA CHENG/AFP BEIJING: US tech giant Nvidia announced Tuesday it will resume sales of its H20 artificial intelligence chips to China after Washington pledged to remove licensing restrictions that had halted exports. The California-based company produces some of the world's most advanced semiconductors but cannot ship its most cutting-edge chips to China due to concerns that Beijing could use them to enhance military capabilities. Nvidia developed the H20 – a less powerful version of its AI processing units – specifically for export to China. However, that plan stalled when the Trump administration tightened export licensing requirements in April. "The US government has assured Nvidia that licenses will be granted, and Nvidia hopes to start deliveries soon," the company said in a statement Tuesday, adding it was "filing applications to sell the Nvidia H20 GPU again." CEO Jensen Huang, wearing his trademark black leather jacket, told reporters in a video published by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV: "I'm looking forward to shipping H20s very soon, and so I'm very happy with that very, very good news." Defending the policy change, Trump's AI Czar David Sacks told CNBC the H20 was a "deprecated chip" that is "not anywhere close to the state of the art." He said the reversal on the H20 came because Nvidia's Chinese rival Huawei was making "huge strides" and could potentially threaten Nvidia's market dominance. China represents a crucial market for Nvidia, but recent US export restrictions have intensified competition from local players like homegrown champion Huawei. "We don't want to sell China our latest greatest technology, but I do think we at least want to make it a little bit difficult for Huawei," Sacks said. Sacks also said that the decision was linked to ongoing trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing that are locked in a bitter trade feud. Beijing has criticised Washington's curbs as unfair and designed to hinder its development. 'Abrupt shifts' Zhang Guobin, founder of Chinese specialist website said the resumption would "bring substantial revenue growth, making up for losses caused by the previous ban." It would also ease trade friction impacts on the global semiconductor supply chain, he told AFP. However, he noted Chinese firms would remain focused on domestic chip development, adding that "the Trump administration has been prone to abrupt policy shifts, making it difficult to gauge how long such an opening might endure." Huang will attend a major supply chain gathering Wednesday, according to event organizers, his third trip to China this year, CCTV reported. During an April visit to Beijing, Huang told Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng he "looked favorably upon the potential of the Chinese economy" and was "willing to continue to plow deeply into the Chinese market and play a positive role in promoting US-China trade cooperation," state news agency Xinhua reported. The tightened US export curbs come as China's economy wavers, with domestic consumers reluctant to spend and a prolonged property sector crisis weighing on growth. President Xi Jinping has called for greater self-reliance amid increasing external uncertainty. The Financial Times reported in May that Nvidia was planning to build a research and development center in Shanghai, though neither Nvidia nor city authorities confirmed the project to AFP. China's economy grew 5.2 percent in the second quarter, official data showed Tuesday, as analysts had predicted strong exports despite trade war pressures. – AFP
Asahi Shimbun
a day ago
- Automotive
- Asahi Shimbun
Nvidia to resume sales of highly desired AI computer chips to China
The NVIDIA logo is seen near a computer motherboard in this illustration taken on Jan. 8, 2024. (REUTERS) BANGKOK--Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang says the technology giant has won approval from the Trump administration to sell its advanced H20 computer chips used to develop artificial intelligence to China. The news came in a company blog post late Monday, which stated that the U.S. government had 'assured' Nvidia that licenses would be granted — and that the company 'hopes to start deliveries soon.' Shares of the California-based chipmaker were up over 4% by midday Tuesday. Huang also spoke about the coup on China's state-run CGTN television network, in remarks shown on X. 'Today, I'm announcing that the U.S. government has approved for us filing licenses to start shipping H20s,' Huang told reporters in Beijing. He added that half of the world's AI researchers are in China. 'It's so innovative and dynamic here in China that it's really important that American companies are able to compete and serve the market here,' he said. Huang recently met with President Donald Trump and other U.S. policymakers — and is in Beijing this week to attend a supply chain conference and speak with Chinese officials. The broadcast showed Huang meeting with Ren Hongbin, the head of the China Council for Promotion of International Trade, host of the China International Supply Chain Expo, which Huang was attending. Nvidia is an exhibitor. Nvidia has profited enormously from the rapid adoption of AI, becoming the first company to have its market value surpass $4 trillion last week. However, the trade rivalry between the U.S. and China has been weighing heavily on the industry. Here's what we know. The H20 graphics processing unit, or GPU, is an advanced AI chip — a type of device used to build and update a range of AI systems. But it's less powerful than Nvidia's top semiconductors today. That's because the H20 chip was developed to specifically comply with U.S. restrictions for exports of AI chips to China. Nvidia's most advanced chips, which carry more computing power, are off-limits to the Chinese market. Washington has been tightening controls on exports of advanced technology to China for years, citing concerns that know-how meant for civilian use could be deployed for military purposes. And in January, before Trump began his second term in office, President Joe Biden's administration launched a new framework for exporting advanced computer chips used to develop AI — in an attempt to balance national security concerns about the technology with the economic interests of producers and other countries. Restrictions on sales of advanced chips to China have been central to the AI race between the world's two largest economic powers, but such controls are also controversial. Proponents argue that these restrictions are necessary to slow China down enough to allow U.S. companies to keep their lead. Meanwhile, opponents say the export controls have loopholes — and could still spur innovation. The emergence of China's DeepSeek AI chatbot in January particularly renewed concerns over how China might use advanced chips to help develop its own AI capabilities. In April, the White House announced that it would restrict sales of Nvidia's H20 chips to China — as well as MI308 chips from rival chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices — with the Trump administration again citing national security. At the time, Nvidia said these tighter export controls would cost the company an extra $5.5 billion — and Huang and other technology leaders have been lobbying Trump to reverse the restrictions since. They've argued that such limits hinder U.S. competition in a sector in one of the world's largest markets for technology and have also warned that U.S. export controls could end up pushing other countries toward China's AI technology. Monday's announcement from Nvidia signals that its lobbying efforts paid off. White House AI and crypto adviser David Sacks told Bloomberg on Tuesday that allowing Nvidia to restart Chinese sales of its H20 chip would help the U.S. better compete abroad — particularly with Chinese chipmaker Huawei Technologies. Meanwhile, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC on Tuesday that the renewed sale of H20 chips in China was linked to a trade agreement made between the two countries on rare earth magnets — and maintained that the administration was also reversing course from April's restrictions because the U.S. still doesn't sell China 'our best stuff.' Still, calls for restrictions on advanced chip exports to China have persisted among U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Just last week, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Jim Banks wrote a letter to Huang noting that the hardware powering advanced AI 'is of immense strategic importance' — and again warned that this kind of technology could be used to accelerate Beijing's effort to modernize its military if exported freely. U.S. lawmakers have also proposed that chips subject to export controls should be tracked, to ensure they don't end up in the wrong places. Beyond export controls, California-based Nvidia — like other tech giants today — has been caught in the crosshairs of Trump's tariff wars abroad, particularly amid America's tit-for-tat levies with China. But Beijing and Washington recently agreed to pull back some non-tariff restrictions. China says it's approving permits for rare earth magnets to be exported to the U.S., while Washington has lifted curbs on chip design software and jet engines. Nvidia and its CEO have also garnered Trump's favor in recent months. In April, the company announced that it would be producing its AI chips in the U.S. for the first time, starting with more than one million square feet of manufacturing space to build and test its specialized Blackwell chips in Arizona and AI supercomputers in Texas. Trump was quick to applaud Nvidia's move. He introduced Huang as a 'smart cookie' who was helping bring jobs to the U.S. at an 'Investing in America' event held at the White House later that month. Similar to Nvidia, AMD is now also poised to restart Chinese sales of its MI308 chips. The California-based company said in a statement that the Commerce Department was moving forward with license applications for these exports to China, and that it plans to resume shipments as those licenses are approved.
Express Tribune
a day ago
- Automotive
- Express Tribune
Nvidia to resume 'H20' AI chips sales to China
Nvidia logo is seen in this illustration taken, January 27, 2025. Photo: Reuters/ File US tech giant Nvidia announced Tuesday it will resume sales of its H20 artificial intelligence chips to China after Washington pledged to remove licensing restrictions that had halted exports. The California-based company produces some of the world's most advanced semiconductors but cannot ship its most cutting-edge chips to China due to concerns that Beijing could use them to enhance military capabilities. Nvidia developed the H20 — a less powerful version of its AI processing units — specifically for export to China. However, that plan stalled when the Trump administration tightened export licensing requirements in April. "The US government has assured Nvidia that licenses will be granted, and Nvidia hopes to start deliveries soon," the company said in a statement Tuesday, adding it was "filing applications to sell the Nvidia H20 GPU again." CEO Jensen Huang, wearing his trademark black leather jacket, told reporters in a video published by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV: "I'm looking forward to shipping H20s very soon, and so I'm very happy with that very, very good news." Defending the policy change, Trump's AI Czar David Sacks told CNBC the H20 was a "deprecated chip" that is "not anywhere close to the state of the art."
Qatar Tribune
a day ago
- Automotive
- Qatar Tribune
Nvidia to resume H20 chip sales to China
Agencies U.S. tech giant Nvidia said on Tuesday it planned to resume sales of its H20 artificial intelligence chips to China soon, citing Washington's pledge to remove licensing curbs that had halted exports. The California-based firm produces some of the world's most advanced semiconductors but is not allowed to ship its most cutting-edge chips to China owing to concerns that Beijing could use them to boost its military capabilities. It developed the H20 – a less powerful version of its AI processing units – specifically for export to China, although that plan hit the skids when the Trump administration firmed up export licence requirements in April. The company said in a statement on Tuesday that it was 'filing applications to sell the Nvidia H20 GPU again.' 'The U.S. government has assured Nvidia that licences will be granted, and Nvidia hopes to start deliveries soon,' the statement said. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in a video published by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday that 'the U.S. government has approved for us (to file) licences to start shipping H20s, and so we will start to sell H20s to the Chinese market.' 'I'm looking forward to shipping H20s very soon, and so I'm very happy with that very, very good news,' Huang, wearing his trademark black leather jacket, told a group of reporters. Zhang Guobin, founder of the Chinese specialist website said the resumption would 'bring (Nvidia) substantial revenue growth, making up for the losses caused by the previous ban.' It would also ease the impact of trade frictions on the global supply chain for semiconductors, he told Agence France-Presse (AFP). But he said Chinese firms would remain focused on domestic chip development, adding that 'the Trump administration has been... prone to abrupt policy shifts, making it difficult to gauge how long such an opening might endure.' Huang will attend a major supply chain gathering on Wednesday, the event organizer confirmed to AFP. It will be his third trip to China this year, according to CCTV. China is a crucial market for Nvidia, but in recent years, the U.S. export squeeze has left it battling tougher competition from local players such as homegrown champion Huawei. Beijing has decried Washington's curbs as unfair and designed to hinder its development. Huang, an electrical engineer, told Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on a visit to Beijing in April that he 'looked favourably upon the potential of the Chinese economy,' according to Xinhua News Agency. He said he was 'willing to continue to plough deeply into the Chinese market and play a positive role in promoting U.S.-China trade cooperation,' Xinhua reported. The tightened U.S. export curbs have come as China's economy wavers, with domestic consumers reluctant to spend and a prolonged property sector crisis weighing on growth. Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for China to become more self-reliant as uncertainty in the external environment increases. The Financial Times reported in May that Nvidia was planning to build a research and development centre in Shanghai. Neither Nvidia nor the city's authorities confirmed the project to AFP at the time. China's economy grew 5.2% in the second quarter of the year, official data showed on Tuesday, after analysts predicted strong exports despite trade war pressures.
Japan Today
a day ago
- Business
- Japan Today
Nvidia's CEO says it has U.S. approval to sell its H20 AI computer chips in China
By ELAINE KURTENBACH Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang says the technology giant has won approval from the Trump administration to sell its advanced H20 computer chips used to develop artificial intelligence to China. The news came in a company blog post late Monday and Huang also spoke about the coup on China's state-run CGTN television network in remarks shown on X. 'The U.S. government has assured Nvidia that licenses will be granted, and Nvidia hopes to start deliveries soon,' the post said. 'Today, I'm announcing that the U.S. government has approved for us filing licenses to start shipping H20s,' Huang told reporters in Beijing. He noted that half of the world's AI researchers are in China. 'It's so innovative and dynamic here in China that it's really important that American companies are able to compete and serve the market here in China,' he said. Huang recently met with Trump and other U.S. policymakers and this week is in Beijing to attend a supply chain conference and speak with Chinese officials. The broadcast showed Huang meeting with Ren Hongbin, the head of the China Council for Promotion of International Trade, host of the China International Supply Chain Expo, which Huang was attending. Nvidia is an exhibitor. Nvidia has profited enormously from rapid adoption of AI, becoming the first company to have its market value surpass $4 trillion last week. However, the trade rivalry between the U.S. and China has been weighing heavily on the industry. Washington has been tightening controls on exports of advanced technology to China for years, citing concerns that know-how meant for civilian use could be deployed for military purposes. The emergence of China's DeepSeek AI chatbot in January renewed concerns over how China might use the advanced chips to help develop its own AI capabilities. In January, before Trump began his second term in office, the administration of President Joe Biden launched a new framework for exporting advanced computer chips used to develop artificial intelligence, an attempt to balance national security concerns about the technology with the economic interests of producers and other countries. The White House announced in April that it would restrict sales of Nvidia's H20 chips and AMD's MI308 chips to China. Nvidia had said the tighter export controls would cost the company an extra $5.5 billion, and Huang and other technology leaders have been lobbying President Donald Trump to reverse the restrictions. They argue that such limits hinder U.S. competition in a leading edge sector in one of the world's largest markets for technology. They've also warned that U.S. export controls could end up pushing other countries toward China's AI technology. AP researcher Yu Bing in Beijing contributed. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
