Today's Edition
BEIJING (REUTERS)
Chinese firms are rushing to buy Nvidia's H20 artificial intelligence chips, two sources told Reuters, as the company said it planned to resume sales to the mainland days after its CEO met United States President Donald Trump.
Nvidia's AI chips have been a key focus of US export controls. The US-listed company has said the curbs would cut its revenue by $15 billion.
The world's most valuable firm is filing applications with the US government to resume sales to China of the H20 graphics processing unit (GPU), and expects to get the licences soon, Nvidia said in a statement.
"The U.S. government has assured Nvidia that licences will be granted, and Nvidia hopes to start deliveries soon," said the company, whose chief executive, Jensen Huang, is visiting Beijing and set to speak at an event on Wednesday.
Sources added that internet giants ByteDance and Tencent are in the process of submitting applications.
Nvidia's shares jumped 5% in premarket trading. Rival AI chipmaker AMD, which has forecast a $1.5 billion revenue hit this year due to US export curbs on China, rose more than 3%.
The H20 chip was developed specifically for the Chinese market after US export curbs imposed on national security grounds in late 2023.
Nvidia also announced the development of a new AI chip designed specifically for China, called the RTX Pro GPU. The company described it as "fully compliant" with US export controls, and suitable for digital twin AI applications in sectors, such as smart factories and logistics.
China generated $17 billion in revenue for Nvidia in the fiscal year ending January 26, or 13% of total sales, based on its latest annual report.
