(Bloomberg) — Nvidia Corp. criticized new chip export restrictions that are expected to be announced soon, saying the White House was trying to undercut the incoming Trump administration by imposing last-minute rules.
Most Read from Bloomberg
The looming changes, which Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, would cap the sale of US artificial intelligence chips on both a country and company basis — a move that would more tightly limit exports to most of the world. It’s part of a yearslong US effort to keep the latest technology away from China and Russia.
“The extreme ‘country cap’ policy will affect mainstream computers in countries around the world, doing nothing to promote national security but rather pushing the world to alternative technologies,” Ned Finkle, Nvidia’s vice president of government affairs, said in a statement.
Nvidia is the leading seller of so-called AI accelerators, which data-center operators use to develop the latest artificial intelligence models. But the technology is based on the graphics processing units, or GPUs, that are used in gaming and other areas.
“It makes no sense for the Biden White House to control everyday data-center computers and technology that is already in gaming PCs worldwide, disguised as an anti-China move,” Finkle said.
The regulations, which could be issued as soon as Friday, would create three tiers of chip curbs, people familiar with the matter said this week. A group of US allies would still have full access to American semiconductors, they said. But most countries would face new limits, including restrictions on the total computing power that could go to one nation. A representative of the White House’s National Security Council declined to comment on the rules.
If the policy is announced, it would come less than two weeks before Donald Trump is set to be sworn in as Joe Biden’s successor.
“This last-minute Biden administration policy would be a legacy that will be criticized by US industry and the global community,” Finkle said. “We would encourage President Biden to not preempt incoming President Trump by enacting a policy that will only harm the U.S. economy, set America back, and play into the hands of US adversaries.”
Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang said earlier this week that he was ready to meet Trump and offer his help to the coming administration.
“I’d be delighted to go see him and congratulate him, and do whatever we can to make this administration succeed,” Huang said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. The CEO hadn’t yet been invited to visit Trump’s home base at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, he said at the time.
Nvidia has been the biggest beneficiary of a surge in AI spending over the past two years, helping turn the once-niche company into the world’s most valuable chipmaker. Its shares nearly tripled last year, following a 239% gain in 2023.
Speaking at the CES conference in Las Vegas this week, Huang said he expected Trump to bring less regulation.
“I think that’s a good thing,” he said. “As an industry, we want to move fast.”
–With assistance from Ian King, Ed Ludlow and Mackenzie Hawkins.
(Updates with earlier remarks starting in ninth paragraph)
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Source link
