Nvidia secures US approval to resume sales of China-focused H20 AI chip

Nvidia said on Tuesday it had received assurances from Washington allowing it to resume exports of its H20 AI chip to China, following restrictions imposed earlier this year.

The US chipmaker confirmed it hoped to restart deliveries of the H20 “soon” and also announced plans to launch a new China-specific AI chip.

The news was first shared in a company blog post late Monday.

“The US of the world's AI researchers are in China,” Nvidia chief Jensen Huang told state-run CGTN.

“It’s so innovative and dynamic here in China that it’s really important American companies are able to compete and serve the market.”

The Trump administration imposed tighter export controls in April, blocking sales of Nvidia’s H20 and AMD’s MI308 chips to China, citing national security concerns.

Nvidia took a $4.5 billion charge in the first quarter as a result.

The approvals follow intense lobbying by Nvidia, which warned that curbing exports could undermine US leadership in AI and bolster Chinese rivals such as Huawei.

“We believe that every civil model should run best on the US technology stack, encouraging nations worldwide to choose America,” Huang said on Tuesday.

Nvidia also announced a new gaming GPU for China compliant with US export rules, following reports of an upcoming chip based on its Blackwell RTX Pro 6000 processor. Its gaming GPUs have become popular for running small AI models due to limited supply of its dedicated AI chips.

Huang is in Beijing this week meeting officials and customers, and is seeking talks with Premier Li Qiang as he navigates rising US-China tech tensions.

Nvidia last week became the first company to surpass a $4 trillion market value, driven by surging demand for AI chips, despite export restrictions weighing on the semiconductor industry.