Nvidia, AMD to share China AI chip sales with US

Nvidia and AMD have struck rare deals to give the Trump administration 15% of sales from their AI chips to China, in exchange for export approvals.

The agreements, covering Nvidia’s H20 and AMD’s MI308 chips, could generate billions, given the high demand. The Commerce Department began issuing licenses last Friday for Nvidia’s H20, followed by AMD’s over the weekend.

Trade tensions and negotiations
The exports had been halted since April amid US-China trade tensions. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang met President Donald Trump last week, the same day Trump exempted US-investing tech firms from new chip tariffs. 

Officials say the H20 isn’t top-tier but allows Nvidia to compete globally, especially against China’s Huawei.

AI competition and security concerns
Developed in 2023 for China under prior export limits, the H20 uses Hopper architecture and handles AI inference tasks, but cannot quickly train large models. 

National-security hawks remain wary, fearing the technology could boost China’s AI and military sectors. 

The deals come as both nations negotiate trade terms, with semiconductor access a critical priority for Beijing.