- Nvidia lost around $5.5 billion in costs and $15 billion in revenue due to H20 export bans
- CEO Jensen Huang celebrates Trump’s decision to reverse some restrictions
- The AI market in China could reach $50 billion this year
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has criticized the US AI chip export controls to China, calling them a “failure” that ultimately ended up costing American businesses billions.
Speaking at this year’s Computex event, the leader praised Trump’s move to modify the Biden-era export curbs (via Reuters), stating that “President Trump realizes it’s exactly the wrong goal.”
In April, the world’s most valuable chipmaker declared it would accrue an estimated $5.5 billion in costs solely relating to the export of H20 chips to China and other restricted nations.
Nvidia praises chip export ban reversal
Huang said the original export assumptions were flawed, and didn’t stop AI research in China, which continues with heavy local investment. However, while the country continues virtually unaffected, Nvidia’s market share in China dropped from 95% to 50% in the period after Biden’s export restrictions were introduced.
Intense competition from domestic firms, like Huawei, has already filled the gaps left by US suppliers.
The CEO explained that China’s AI market could reach a staggering $50 billion this year, marking a major opportunity for Nvidia if access to the nation is restored via lifted restrictions. Apart from the $5.5 billion in estimated costs, Nvidia expected $15 billion in lost revenues due to export restrictions on its H20 chips.
Nvidia is also developing a compliant version of its Blackwell AI chip with downgraded memory to meet US restrictions.
Despite reversing some Biden-era bans, the Trump administration is considering replacing the tiered export system with a global licensing regime for better leverage in trade talks. Earlier this week, China responded to US actions by demanding an end to “discriminatory” policies.
“AI is advancing at light speed as agentic AI and physical AI set the stage for the next wave of AI to revolutionize the largest industries,” Huang said in the company’s most recent earnings report, when it revealed a 78% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue.
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