US Allows Nvidia’s H20 AI Chips Back Into China

The U.S. Commerce Department has begun issuing export licenses that allow Nvidia to ship its H20 artificial-intelligence processors to Chinese customers, a U.S. official told Reuters. The decision removes a key hurdle for the world’s largest AI-chip maker just weeks after Washington reversed an April ban on the product. The policy shift came after Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang met President Donald Trump in Washington on Wednesday, according to people familiar with the discussions cited by the Financial Times. It remains unclear how many licenses have been granted, which Chinese companies may receive the chips or the value of the shipments approved. China is a critical market for Nvidia: the company said its H20 generated about $4.6 billion in first-quarter sales and that the country accounted for 12.5% of total revenue. Nvidia had warned that earlier restrictions on the chip would cut roughly $8 billion from July-quarter sales and had booked a $5.5 billion charge tied to the curbs, though it later recouped part of that amount. Exports of Nvidia’s most advanced AI accelerators other than the H20 remain restricted. Successive U.S. administrations have tightened semiconductor controls to limit Beijing’s access to cutting-edge technology, seeking to slow China’s progress in artificial intelligence and military applications.