(Yicai) July 15 — Nvidia said the US tech giant will resume sales of its H20 artificial intelligence chips to China after the US government assured the company that export licenses would be granted.
Nvidia is filing applications to begin selling the key AI product in China again and hopes to start deliveries soon, according to a blog post on the California-based company’s website yesterday that cited Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang.
Nvidia launched the less-advanced H20 chips, designed specifically for the Chinese market, in 2023 after the US government banned the firm from selling its more advanced chips, including the H100 and A100, to China. The Trump administration expanded the ban to more products this April, including the H20 chips, amid a trade spat between the two countries.
Chinese tech companies, including ByteDance and Tencent Holdings, are submitting applications to buy H20 chips, Reuters reported today, citing people familiar with the matter.
Nvidia incurred a USD4.5 billion inventory write-down tied to unsold H20 chips in the fiscal first quarter ended April 28, while its second-quarter revenue will likely plunge by USD8 billion, according to a financial report released in May.
In pre-market trading in new York, Nvidia’s shares [NASDAQ: NVDA] were trading up 4.7 percent at USD164.07 apiece as of 6.52 a.m. local time, after falling 0.5 percent yesterday. The stock has gained almost 19 percent since the end of last year.
Huang, who set up Nvidia in 1993, is in Beijing on his third visit to China this year. He arrived in Beijing yesterday and met with government officials and Lei Jun, founder and CEO of electronics giant Xiaomi.
Huang was invited by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade to attend the China International Supply Chain Promotion Expo, which kicks off tomorrow. He also visited China in January and April.
Before flying to Beijing, Huang met with US President Donald Trump at the White House last week. In meetings with Trump and US policymakers, he reaffirmed Nvidia’s support for the administration’s effort to create jobs, strengthen domestic AI infrastructure and onshore manufacturing, and ensure America’s global AI lead.
Huang has been promoting AI in Washington and Beijing this month, emphasizing its benefits for business and society worldwide, the company’s blog post noted. In meetings with government and industry officials in Beijing, he has discussed how AI will raise productivity and expand opportunity.
Editors: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev