Latest news with #Taiwan-born
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
TACO Trump Reverses Decision That Just Happens to Have Cost His ‘Friend' Billions
The U.S. has agreed to let Nvidia sell its advanced H20 computer chips to China just days after President Donald Trump met with the company's chief executive, his 'friend' Jensen Huang. The decision, which the company announced Monday in a blog post, reverses a Commerce Department policy put in place in April that restricted sales of the chip, causing an estimated $5.5 billion in losses, the Associated Press reported. Last week, Huang met with Trump to personally lobby for a reversal, according to the Wall Street Journal. He argued that allowing Nvidia to sell its technology worldwide would result in American companies dominating artificial intelligence instead of Chinese companies. The chips are used in cutting-edge data centers that train AI models and operate AI applications. Doing business in China would allow Nvidia to tap the country's AI talent, Huang reportedly told Trump. He made a similar case to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, according to the Journal. Speaking to reporters in Beijing on Monday, Huang said that half of the world's AI researchers are based in China. Trump had previously described the Taiwan-born businessman, who moved to the U.S. at age 9 and studied electrical engineering at Stanford University, as 'my friend' in Saudi Arabia in May, the Journal reported. Huang was part of a posse of tech leaders—which included Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk and Alphabet chief investment officer Ruth Porat—who accompanied Trump to Saudi Arabia for a Saudi-U.S. business investment forum. The Nvidia chief has generally tried to stay out of politics but was forced to enter the fray thanks to the president's wild pendulum swings on tariff and export control policies, the latter of which Huang called a 'failure' in May, according to the Journal. The president has flip-flopped so much on trade threats that in May Wall Street traders nicknamed him 'TACO' for 'Trump Always Chickens Out.' Huang spoke at the White House in late April during an 'Investing in America' event highlighting domestic manufacturing investments. Nvidia had recently announced that it was working to build its AI supercomputers entirely in the U.S. During his remarks, Huang gushed that without Trump's 'leadership, his policies, his support and very importantly his strong encouragement—and I mean his strong encouragement—frankly manufacturing in the United State wouldn't have accelerated to this pace.' Nvidia has eclipsed Apple, Microsoft and Google to become the most valuable company in the world on the back of the AI boom, and last week became the first company to hit a $4 trillion market valuation.
Straits Times
16-07-2025
- Automotive
- Straits Times
Nvidia's Jensen Huang turns on the charm in Beijing amid US-China tech rivalry
Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang ditched his iconic black leather jacket for a traditional Tang suit at a trade exhibition in Beijing on July 16. - On a high-profile trip to China, with billions in potential sales to the lucrative Chinese semiconductor market at stake, Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang ditched his iconic black leather jacket for a traditional Tang suit. At the opening of a trade exhibition in Beijing on July 16, the Taiwan-born American spoke a few sentences of halting Mandarin, before adding to laughter: 'I'm going to do the rest of my speech in English now. So I don't torture you for the rest of the day.' Describing AI (artificial intelligence) models from Chinese tech players like DeepSeek, Alibaba and Baidu as 'world-class', he said: 'The heroes of China's super fast innovation are your researchers, developers and entrepreneurs. More than 1.5 million developers in China build on Nvidia today to bring their innovations to life.' Nvidia is at the heart of a global AI boom and last week became the first public company to hit US$4 trillion in stock market value . Mr Huang, who is among the American tech executives who are trying to court Chinese customers while not falling afoul of Washington's national security concerns, has come prepared on his third China visit of the year. On July 15, Nvidia announced that sales of its H20 chip to China would resume , with Washington's nod. The AI chip, a less powerful version of the firm's flagship H100, had been banned in April when Washington tightened export controls to China. But analysts said the move to approve the China-specific chip is merely a reprieve which may not last, with technology at the heart of US-China competition and both countries still in the middle of a 90-day trade truce since May 12. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Over 600 Telegram groups in Singapore selling, advertising vapes removed by HSA Singapore 2 weeks' jail for man caught smuggling over 1,800 vapes and pods into Singapore Singapore Jail for man who fatally hit his daughter, 2, while driving van without licence Singapore Primary 1 registration: 38 primary schools to conduct ballot in Phase 2A Singapore ComfortDelGro to introduce new taxi cancellation, waiting fee policy Singapore Here comes the sun: Less rain, more warm days in second half of July Singapore Instead of overcomplicating COE system, Govt has ensured affordable transport for all: SM Lee to Jamus Lim Singapore Baby died after mum took abortion pills and gave birth in toilet; coroner records an open verdict The H20's ban was estimated to have cost Nvidia US$10.5 billion across its April and July quarters. The policy reversal came after Mr Huang lobbied US President Donald Trump at the White House last week. On his visit, Mr Huang also unveiled a new graphics processing unit for the China market called the RTX Pro, which he said is 'fully compliant' with US export restrictions and would be designed for smart factories and robot training purposes. 'It takes 200 different technology companies to build one of our AI computers… it is not possible without a sophisticated supply chain,' he told President Ren Hongbin of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. 'That's why I'm here - to celebrate the miracle of the (Chinese) supply chain.' The Council, a government-affiliated trade body, is the organiser of the 3rd International Supply Chain Expo held in Beijing from July 16 to 20, which Nvidia took part in for the first time. Mr Huang was among the speakers at the opening ceremony. Even as he received the VIP treatment in China, Nvidia has remained caught in the crosshairs of Washington and Beijing. Mr Huang has argued that continuing to sell to China means that the US is not ceding the Chinese market to domestic players such as Huawei. He has also said that US tech export controls to China have failed, and have only pushed Chinese firms to innovate more quickly. But some, including US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, have said that Nvidia and other companies should stop helping China use 'our tools to compete with us'. Associate Professor Marina Zhang of the University of Technology Sydney saw Mr Huang's recent remarks as an effort to position himself - and Nvidia - as both compliant with US policy and indispensable to China's AI eco-system. Prof Zhang, who researches on China and technology issues, did not see the approval of the H20 as a reversal in policy, but more of a calibration. 'It reflects a 'precision sanctions' approach: allowing US firms to serve China's mid-tier AI market - keeping American players commercially viable - while still blocking access to cutting-edge compute essential for training frontier models. 'Washington is walking a tightrope: trying to avoid a full market exit for firms like Nvidia while continuing to constrain China's long-term AI capabilities,' she said, adding that this policy adjustment will not reverse China's determination to develop indigenous technologies, particularly in semiconductors. Dr Sun Chenghao, who researches US foreign policy and US-China relations at Tsinghua University, said the US decision to resume H20 chip sales to China did not represent a fundamental reversal of export controls. Rather, it is a temporary concession driven by commercial pressure and geopolitical calculations. Nvidia suffered significant losses under April's export ban, prompting Mr Huang to lobby intensely for policy adjustments, he said. 'While Washington greenlit the sales, it strictly capped the H20's performance (merely 15 to 30 per cent of the H100's capabilities) to prevent its use in cutting-edge AI training—revealing its unchanged core aim: delaying China's technological advancement.' Dr Sun said Washington could reimpose stricter controls if China's domestic chip substitutes progress faster than expected, or if US political pressures intensify. 'Notably, America has explicitly tied tech export policies to broader trade negotiations, meaning export restrictions will remain a bargaining chip to pressure China if talks stall,' he added. Mr Huang himself saw such geopolitical issues as beyond his control. When asked about the impact of US tariffs in a press conference on July 16, he said Nvidia would simply have to adapt. 'There were trade, taxes and tariffs before I came into Nvidia. There will be trade, tariffs and taxes after I leave Nvidia.'
New Straits Times
15-07-2025
- Automotive
- New Straits Times
Nvidia to resume H20 AI chip sales to China after US export nod
BEIJING: US tech giant Nvidia said on Tuesday it will resume sales of its H20 artificial intelligence chips to China, after Washington pledged to remove licensing curbs that had put a stop to 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 US 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 "the US 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. CCTV said in a separate report that Huang would attend a major supply chain gathering on Wednesday. The Taiwan-born executive "will be present at the opening ceremony of the 3rd China International Supply Chain Expo on July 16 and will participate in related activities", the broadcaster said. It cited the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, an official body controlled by Beijing's commerce ministry. It will be Huang's third trip to China this year, according to CCTV. China is a crucial market for Nvidia but in recent years the US 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 state news agency Xinhua. He said he was "willing to continue to plough deeply into the Chinese market and play a positive role in promoting US-China trade cooperation", Xinhua reported. The tightened US export curbs have 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 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 per cent in the second quarter of the year, official data showed on Tuesday, after analysts predicted strong exports despite trade war pressures.--AFP
DW
10-07-2025
- Automotive
- DW
$4 trillion: Nvidia breaks market value record – DW – 07/10/2025
The silicon valley chip maker briefly reached a record-breaking $4 trillion valuation. Nvidia has seen a consistent rise over the past 2 years, as enthusiam in AI increases. Shortly after the stock market opened on Wednesday morning, Nvidia's stock price surged to $164.42. This pushed it briefly to a valuation of $4 trillion, a market value greater than the GDP of France, the UK, or India. The success at the Californian chip company has been helping the wider stock market recover after a downturn earlier in the year, partly prompted by US President Donald Trump announcing widespread tariffs in early April. Trump's ongoing trade war sent global markets plummeting. Nvidia, led by Taiwan-born Jensen Huang, has seen a consistent rise over the past 2 years as this enthusiasm over AI has boomed. Many big tech companies such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Meta, have also joined the multi-billion dollar AI race. "The market has an incredible certainty that AI is the future," said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers told AFP. "Nvidia is certainly the company most positioned to benefit from that gold rush." In early 2025, Nvidia and generative AI such as OpenAI were challenged by the arrival of China-based DeepSeek. DeepSeek disrupted the AI world with a low-cost, high-performance model. Nvidia lost some $600 billion in market valuation in a single session at this time. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video After Trump's tariffs hit the tech sector hard in April, Nvidia has quickly bounced back. In the most recent quarter, Nvidia reported earnings of nearly $19 billion despite a $4.5 billion hit from US government export controls which limit chip sales to China. In May, the company reached a deal to build AI infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, during a Trump state visit. "We've seen the administration using Nvidia chips as a bargaining chip," Angelo Zino, technology analyst at CFRA Research. Even as Trump has announced new tariffs in recent days, US stocks have remained high, with the tech-centered Nasdaq closing at a new record on Wednesday. Shares in Nvidia closed on Wednesday with a market value of $3.972 trillion.
The Hindu
10-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Nvidia becomes first company to reach $4 trillion in value
Nvidia became the first company to touch $4 trillion in market value on Wednesday, a new milestone in Wall Street's bet that artificial intelligence will transform the economy. Shortly after the stock market opened, Nvidia vaulted as high as $164.42, giving it a valuation above $4 trillion. The stock subsequently edged lower, ending just under the record threshold. "The market has an incredible certainty that AI is the future," said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers. "Nvidia is certainly the company most positioned to benefit from that gold rush." Nvidia, led by electrical engineer Jensen Huang, now has a market value greater than the GDP of France, Britain or India, a testament to investor confidence that AI will spur a new era of robotics and automation. The California chip company's latest surge is helping drive a recovery in the broader stock market, as Nvidia itself outperforms major indices. Part of this is due to relief that U.S. President Donald Trump has walked back his most draconian tariffs, which pummeled global markets in early April. Even as Trump announced new tariff actions in recent days, U.S. stocks have stayed at lofty levels, with the tech-centered Nasdaq ending at a fresh record on Wednesday. "You've seen the markets walk us back from a worst-case scenario in terms of tariffs," said Angelo Zino, technology analyst at CFRA Research. While Nvidia still faces U.S. export controls to China as well as broader tariff uncertainty, the company's deal to build AI infrastructure in Saudi Arabia during a Trump state visit in May showed a potential upside in the U.S. president's trade policy. "We've seen the administration using Nvidia chips as a bargaining chip," Zino said. Nvidia's surge to $4 trillion marks a new benchmark in a fairly consistent rise over the last two years as AI enthusiasm has built. In 2025 so far, the company's shares have risen more than 21 percent, whereas the Nasdaq has gained 6.7 percent. Taiwan-born Huang has wowed investors with a series of advances, including its core product: graphics processing units (GPUs), key to many of the generative AI programs behind autonomous driving, robotics and other cutting-edge domains. The company has also unveiled its Blackwell next-generation technology allowing more super processing capacity. One of its advances is "real-time digital twins," significantly speeding production development time in manufacturing, aerospace and myriad other sectors. However, Nvidia's winning streak was challenged early in 2025 when China-based DeepSeek shook up the world of generative AI with a low-cost, high-performance model that challenged the hegemony of OpenAI and other big-spending behemoths. Nvidia's lost some $600 billion in market valuation in a single session during this period. Huang has welcomed DeepSeek's presence, while arguing against U.S. export constraints. In the most recent quarter, Nvidia reported earnings of nearly $19 billion despite a $4.5 billion hit from US export controls limiting sales of cutting-edge technology to China. The first-quarter earnings period also revealed that momentum for AI remained strong. Many of the biggest tech companies - Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Meta - are jostling to come out on top in the multi-billion-dollar AI race. A recent UBS survey of technology executives showed Nvidia widening its lead over rivals. Zino said Nvidia's latest surge reflected a fuller understanding of DeepSeek, which has ultimately stimulated investment in complex reasoning models but not threatened Nvidia's business. Nvidia is at the forefront of "AI agents," the current focus in generative AI in which machines are able to reason and infer more than in the past, he said. "Overall the demand landscape has improved for 2026 for these more complex reasoning models," Zino said. But the speedy growth of AI will also be a source of disruption. Executives at Ford, JPMorgan Chase and Amazon are among those who have begun to say the "quiet part out loud," according to a Wall Street Journal report recounting recent public acknowledgment of white-collar job loss due to AI. Shares of Nvidia closed the day at $162.88, up 1.8 percent, finishing at just under $4 trillion in market value.
