Nvidia CEO Huang says H200 export hangs on government decision despite strong interest

Nvidia Corp.’s top executive says the sale of its powerful H200 artificial intelligence chips in China remains on hold pending a decision by Chinese authorities.

CEO Jensen Huang told reporters in Taipei on Thursday that while Nvidia has made progress in securing a license and has engaged with both customers and government officials in China, Beijing has yet to formally approve imports of the H200 chips, and no orders have been placed by Chinese customers as a result.

“We’re hopeful the Chinese government will allow Nvidia to sell the H200 and are looking forward to a favorable decision,” Huang said, adding that the license process is being finalized.

Chinese government is deciding whether to allow Nvidia to sell its H200 chips

Jensen Huang said that Nvidia hasn’t received any orders from Chinese buyers for their H200 chip. The reason is that China is still considering whether to allow the import of the H200.

The consideration is taking time, but the interest from Chinese companies remains high. He said that the matter is entirely in the Chinese capital and that they are waiting for the final verdict before they can move.

In an interview with Taipei reporters, Huang said he hopes Beijing will allow the company to sell its H200 chip in the Chinese market again, but added that the timing of the decision is beyond its control. He said the company can only wait, but is more than ready to act quickly once it’s made.

Huang traveled to China and met with the company’s customers and government officials to discuss Nvidia’s products and the market landscape. However, there are no reports that China has placed any orders, indicating that the negotiations haven’t gone through yet.

Huang said there is good news: officials in the Chinese government secretly asked top tech companies like Alibaba to begin preparing to receive the H200 chips. This statement implies that officials could go ahead and allow companies to import the chips, but Nvidia hasn’t received official word on the matter.

Nvidia is awaiting US approval to resume selling chips in China

Huang said the H200 is an older generation of AI processors, and that the US government has agreed to allow the company to sell them to China, but will place tighter controls on newer, more advanced models. He also said the US is still processing the export license, so Nvidia has to wait.

According to the CEO, companies in China are very interested in the H200 chips because they know the chips can provide the computing power they need to improve their AI operations.

Huang noted that interest in the H200 chip makes it a very important product for Nvidia as it seeks to regain its position in the Chinese market, which remains the world’s largest semiconductor market.

Nvidia lost significant ground in the Chinese market due to US restrictions that prevented it from shipping its premium AI computing chips to the country. The company is now trying to recover that loss, and the CEO even said the restrictions don’t affect the standards for developing and running AI models.

Huang concluded that demand for AI chips is growing worldwide, so manufacturing capacity needs to increase. He said Nvidia’s biggest manufacturing partner, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., needs to up production over the next decade just to meet the growing demand.

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