In a move that signals a potential shift in trade and technology policies, President Donald Trump has signaled openness to allow the sale of a modified version of Nvidia's next-generation AI chips in China. As reported by Reuters, this comes amid concerns that the technology could bolster China's military capabilities. Trump mentioned a less-capable version of Nvidia's advanced Blackwell chip, suggesting a 30% to 50% reduction in capabilities for the ones sold in China.
The agreement with Nvidia – the brainchild of CEO Jensen Huang – and AMD also involves the companies paying the U.S. government 15% of their revenue from sales in China, a detail Trump defended. "I think he's coming to see me again about that, but that will be an unenhanced version of the big one," Trump told Reuters, referring to a possible further discussion with Huang about the chips. It's worth noting that this deal comes off as part of a broader strategy to maintain economic leverage over technology exports to China.
Meanwhile, the deal was also reported by the BBC, stating that the obligatory revenue share has sparked surprise and criticism within the U.S. Deborah Elms, head of trade policy at the Hinrich Foundation, opined, "You either have a national security problem or you don't," implying that the financial aspect doesn't mitigate national security risks. Additionally, Nvidia commented, "America cannot repeat 5G and lose telecommunication leadership," heralding the need to compete heavily in global AI technology.
