Nvidia CEO says it has basically handed China's AI chip market to Huawei, CNBC reports

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang Jen-Hsun told CNBC that the company has basically handed the artificial intelligence chip market in China to Huawei on a silver platter, as US export restrictions reshape the global AI semiconductor landscape.

His comments came as Nvidia reported an 85 percent revenue surge to US$81.62 billion from last year's US$44.06 billion in the first quarter. 

The company announced a US$80 billion share buyback program and increased its dividend.

He noted that demand for AI chips in China is quite large and that Huawei is an extremely formidable competitor, adding that the company set records last year and is likely to achieve remarkable results again this year. 

"Their local ecosystem of chip companies are doing quite well, because we've evacuated that market," he said.

The report noted that China once accounted for at least one-fifth of Nvidia's data center revenue, but after the Trump administration informed Nvidia in April that it would need licenses to export chips to China and a few other countries, the company was effectively shut out of the Chinese market.

During the interview, Huang expressed caution about the near-term prospects of renewed access to the Chinese market, stating that Nvidia has already told investors "not to hold out any hope" for approvals to sell advanced chips to China. However, he said the company would be eager to return to the market if conditions improve.

He also said that Nvidia "would be more than delighted to serve the market," noting that it has many customers and partners there and has been in the market for 30 years.
 

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓