Nvidia’s Huang walks an AI tightrope between US, China

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is trying to keep both the U.S. and China happy. It is proving to be a tricky high-wire act.

- Amrith Ramkumar

The chip maker drew praise from President Trump for its $5 billion investment in rival Intel, which recently struck a deal to give a 10% stake to the U.S. government. Huang was beaming on a joint video call with Intel Chief Executive Lip-Bu Tan as he discussed a new partnership to make processors for data centers and personal computers.

Even as Nvidia earns applause in the U.S., obstacles for the world’s most valuable company are piling up. This week, China told companies not to buy a key Nvidia product and accused the chip designer of violating an antimonopoly law. Influenced by the government, Nvidia customers there have spurned the H20, an artificial-intelligence chip the company designed specifically for that market and that Trump approved for export last month.

Huang’s challenge is to remain in good standing in the U.S. while pursuing opportunities in China’s vast market. He is making the case that allowing Nvidia to sell its coveted AI chips with minimal restrictions is the best way for each country to advance its national interests. The clock is ticking as Chinese companies like Huawei continue improving their chipmaking capabilities. On Thursday, Huawei unveiled a new generation of chips that could challenge Nvidia products in the country.

Administration officials are weighing whether to approve a more advanced product that runs on Nvidia’s Blackwell architecture for sales in China, but it is far from a done deal. Trump is under pressure from national-security hawks who don’t think the deal should be allowed, and he could throw a curveball into the agreement, as he did when he demanded a cut of H20 sales in return for approving the exports.