Whether Nvidia’s chips can be exported to China remains uncertain amid internal issues at the US Commerce Department and Beijing’s warnings over its H20 artificial intelligence chip.
Reuters reported that thousands of export license applications by US firms, including Nvidia, are stalled as turmoil at the department’s export bureau has left it nearly paralyzed.
No licenses have been issued for Nvidia’s H20 chip, putting billions of dollars of AI chip orders at risk, sources said.
They noted the bureau, under the command of US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, has delayed new rules, cut communications with industry, and lost staff through buyouts and resignations.
This came after Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang concluded his third China trip this year in July, announcing Washington’s approval of H20 sales to China.
He praised China’s AI progress and stressed its strategic importance for US tech firms.
Separately, People’s Daily published “How Can We Trust You Nvidia,” after the Cyberspace Administration summoned the company over H20’s security risks, urging it to provide “convincing safety proof” to safeguard user data.
The H20 chip, originally designed to comply with US export restrictions, had been banned from the Chinese market in April.
In other news, Reuters said Alphabet’s venture arm CapitalG and Nvidia are in discussions to back AI infrastructure firm Vast Data in a funding round that may value the startup at up to US$30 billion (HK$234 billion).
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