Trump Administration Halts Nvidia H20 AI Chip Export Ban to China Following CEO's Mar-a-Lago Visit

Nvidia's H20 AI chips may be spared from export controls -- for now | TechCrunch

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang appears to have struck a deal with the Trump administration to avoid export restrictions on the company's H20 AI chips. The H20, the most advanced Nvidia-produced AI chip that can still be exported from the U.S. to China, was reportedly spared thanks to a promise from Huang to invest in new AI data centers in the U.S. According to NPR, Huang made the proposal during a dinner at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort sometime last week. Nvidia declined to comment. Many in the semiconductor industry feared H20s, which are modified to have lower performance than other Nvidia chips, were headed for restrictions because they were reportedly one of the chips China-based DeepSeek used to train its R1 open AI model. Released in January, R1 made headlines for its strong performance relative to models from U.S.-based AI labs including OpenAI. Senators from both sides of the aisle have called for restrictions on the H20. Even the Trump administration was said to have been preparing H20 export controls prior to its reversal in course, according to NPR. While it isn't totally surprising that Trump allegedly agreed to shelve some potential chip restrictions in exchange for a commitment from Nvidia to invest in U.S. AI infrastructure, allowing Nvidia to continue exporting H20s to China would appear to counter the administration's goal of securing U.S. dominance in AI. Making the move even more perplexing is the Trump administration's decision to keep in place the set of AI chip export rules introduced by outgoing President Joe Biden in January. Those rules layer chip export limits on nearly every country outside the U.S. -- including U.S. allies -- with harsher restrictions on China and Russia. Nvidia has called those guidelines "unprecedented and misguided" and said that they're likely to stifle global innovation. Many AI companies besides Nvidia have leaned into Trump's "America-first" approach to AI in bids to curry favor with the administration. OpenAI teamed up with SoftBank and Oracle for a $500 billion U.S. data center initiative dubbed the Stargate Project in January. Microsoft pledged $80 billion to build AI data centers in its 2025 fiscal year, with 50% of that earmarked for the U.S. Trump has strong-armed certain partners to get his desired outcome. He reportedly told Taiwanese semiconductor company TSMC that it would have to pay a tax up to 100% if the company didn't build new chip factories in the U.S.

Trump reportedly suspends Nvidia H20 export ban plan after $1 million dinner with Jensen Huang

The U.S. government has pulled back from its plan to block Nvidia's H20 HGX GPU exports to China, following a meeting between the U.S. President Donald Trump and Nvidia's chief executive Jensen Huang at a $1 million-a-head dinner. During the tête-à-tête Huang vowed to invest in domestic AI infrastructure, reports NPR. The Trump administration reportedly planned to ban sales of Nvidia's H20 HGX GPUs to China starting this week, but changed its mind. The U.S. had spent months preparing new restrictions on shipments of H20 HGX GPUs -- the highest-performing AI GPUs still permitted for sale in China -- and those measures were set to take effect as early as this week, according to NPR, which cites two sources. The change in course followed a dinner at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, which Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang attended, reportedly at a $1 million admission fee. Shortly afterward, the company reportedly promised to pour more money into U.S.-based AI data centers, a move that helped ease concerns from the administration. As it turns out, the Trump administration planned to ban shipments of Nvidia's H20 to China even ahead of May 15, when the Biden administration's AI Diffusion Rule is set to come into effect and prohibit sales of all American AI processors to Chinese entities. Under the new AI Diffusion Rule, China is effectively blocked from getting American processors as license exceptions that take into account limited performance or limited quantities will not apply to high-risk countries, including China. Nvidia tailored its H20 GPU to specifically fit into total processing performance (TPP) metric allowed for exports to China. The AI Diffusion Rule introduces the low processing performance (LPP) exception that allows American companies to ship a limited number of GPUs that meet TPP thresholds to customers in the so-called Tier 2 countries (outside of the U.S. and its 18 allies) without a license. However, China cannot use LPP to legally obtain even minimal amounts of advanced U.S. AI processors as all AI processor exports to China require a license, and the default position is to deny them, making it extremely difficult for Chinese firms to legally acquire advanced AI hardware from the U.S. For Nvidia, this is a major problem, as it reportedly sold $16 billion worth H20 GPUs to China entities in the first quarter of calendar 2025. However, it is unclear whether Nvidia is now allowed to sell H20 till May 15, or after May 15 too. If the latter is the case, we can only wonder whether to enable H20 exports to China the Trump administration will have to alter the Biden administration's AI diffusion rule, axe it altogether, or grant Nvidia export licenses to sell to big customers.

Trump reportedly walking back AI chip export curbs to China

Nvidia may have been served a particularly delicious digestif after dropping a million bucks for dinner at President Trump's Florida home Mar-a-Lago: A reprieve on restrictions of its AI chips to China. According to NPR, not long after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang showed up at the seven-figure soiree last week, the Trump administration quietly shelved a plan to tighten restrictions on the sale of Nv's H20 GPUs to the Middle Kingdom. The policy reversal reportedly came after Nvidia promised the Trump administration fresh investments in US-based AI datacenters, according to one source cited by NPR. Trade relations between Washington and Beijing have steadily worsened since Trump took office, with the President on Wednesday pushing tariffs on Chinese imports to at least 125 percent. Consistent with that hard-line stance, the administration was expected to further tighten curbs on the sale of Nvidia accelerators, including the H20, to China. The processor is the most powerful part Nvidia can legally sell in China. The chips are coveted by Chinese AI model builders and cloud providers. While China has developed homegrown alternatives to Nvidia's accelerators, many of the companies that designed them are on the US Entities List, a designation that makes it nearly impossible for them to have their GPUs made by leading-edge foundries, in particular TSMC and Samsung. Huawei, however, has been accused of using proxy companies to subvert these rules. Chinese firms are reportedly trying to stockpile $16 billion worth of H20s in anticipation of further export restrictions. Nvidia declined to comment on this story. The Register asked the US Commerce Department for comment. Efforts to limit China's access to slick accelerators used in supercomputing and AI applications are by no means new. Over the past three years, Uncle Sam has worked to derail China's supply of top-drawer chips by banning the export of some devices and only allowing export of products with processing power well below the capabilities of the most modern parts. Nvidia responded by creating cut-down versions of its products and is thought to want to do so again for its latest generation of Blackwell parts. ®

Trump administration backs off Nvidia's H20 chip crackdown after Mar-a-Lago dinner, NPR reports

April 9 (Reuters) - The Trump administration has reversed course on plans to restrict exports of Nvidia's (NVDA.O), opens new tab H20 artificial intelligence chips to China after CEO Jensen Huang attended a Mar-a-Lago dinner last week, NPR reported on Wednesday. The planned American export controls on the chips -- the most advanced AI processor legally available in China under U.S. export controls -- had been in the works for months, NPR reported, citing two sources, and were ready to be implemented as soon as this week. The change in plans came after Nvidia promised the Trump administration new U.S. investments in AI data centers, the NPR report said. The White House and Nvidia did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration was considering tightening restrictions on the AI leader's sales of its H20 chips designed for the China market, Reuters had reported in January. The idea to restrict shipments of those chips to China has been under consideration since Democratic former President Joe Biden's administration. In February, Reuters exclusively reported a surge in orders for the H20, driven by booming demand for Chinese startup DeepSeek's low-cost AI models. Chinese companies, including ByteDance, Alibaba Group (9988.HK), opens new tab and Tencent Holdings (0700.HK), opens new tab, have placed at least $16 billion in orders for Nvidia's H20 server chips in the first three months of the year, the Information reported last week. Two U.S. lawmakers, Republican John Moolenaar and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, called for more restrictions on exports of Nvidia's artificial intelligence chips in late January. Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Alan Barona Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:Technology

Nvidia Chip Sales Continue in China After CEO's Visit to Mar-a-Lago

A planned export restriction was reportedly cancelled after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang attended a $1 million per-head dinner at Mar-a-Lago. Nvidia will be permitted to continue selling H20 graphics processing units in China following a visit to Mar-a-Lago by CEO Jensen Huang, according to NPR. Huang attended a dinner last Friday at the resort that was priced at $1 million per head, though it is unclear whether he spoke with President Trump. The White House has not commented on the pivot but was reportedly planning on implementing restrictions banning H20 sales in China imminently, potentially within days. NPR reports that Huang offered to invest more into U.S. AI data centers at a time when Microsoft is pulling back and shifting tariffs threaten to raise the cost of construction. The United States already restricts exports of Nvidia's cutting-edge H100 chips to China, over concerns that the country will develop AI for use in warfare and mass surveillance. Not an unfounded concern, as the country has often brutally repressed its citizenry, especially the Uyghur ethnic minority. But CEOs find God when it comes to making money. China is a major market for Nvidia, so the company convinced the government to allow it to sell chips with somewhat neutered performance, including the H20. To put the importance of China for Nvidia into context, it was recently reported by The Information that Chinese firms purchased $16 billion worth of H20 chips in the first three months of 2025, anticipating an impending ban. In that sense, ponying up $1 million for $16 billion in sales is a pretty good return on investment. Similar to Apple and its CEO Tim Cook, Huang has been careful to walk a fine line on the subject of China. Early this year he made a quiet visit to the country, where he reinforced the country's role in Nvidia's growth. Huang noted that more than 1.5 million developers in China use CUDA, its software toolkit for training AI on its chipsets. Nvidia has collaborated with more than 3,000 startups in the country, he added. "Over the past two decades, we have significantly contributed to the modernization of one of the world's most dynamic markets, and we take immense pride in our role within this ecosystem." One could argue that export restrictions on China have been something of a double-edged sword. They may slow the country's advancements in weaponry or surveillance, but the technology industry there has become adept at making its models more efficient, doing more with less. Nothing has exemplified that more than DeepSeek R1, a lightweight AI model that was reportedly built in just two months and with less than $6 million. The company used compliant H800 chips to train the model. The H20 chip is particularly well suited for inference tasks, like the reasoning technique that was initiated by OpenAI's o1 and DeepSeek's R1 models. Huawei is another company that found the silver lining in export restrictions. The smartphone maker was hobbled after President Trump, during his first administration, restricted the company's access to Western-made processors and software. Last year it unveiled its first smartphone with its own homegrown chip and operating system, a feat many critics did not believe it would be able to accomplish so quickly. No, it no longer needs to worry about playing nice with the Trump administration. Kissing the ring may have worked for Nvidia's CEO, but many other technology leaders have made the pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago, and it is not clear they will get much out of it. President Trump's administration remains hawkish on big tech over the belief they have censored conservative viewpoints. Meta continues to face a fast-approaching FTC antitrust trial, despite large donations and repeated trips by Mark Zuckerberg to curry Trump's favor. Either way, the latest move is another example of how easy it can be to manipulate the Trump administration. If China is such a clear-cut bad actor on the global stage trying to become the new world power, why is President Trump allowing them to continue buying AI chips? At least maybe China buying chips while slapping tariffs on their goods imported to America could reduce the trade deficit.

Trump administration backs off Nvidia's 'H20' chip crackdown after Mar-a-Lago dinner

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivers the keynote address at the annual Nvidia GTC conference in San Jose, Calif. last month. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption When Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang attended a $1 million-a-head dinner at Mar-a-Lago last week, a chip known as the H20 may have been on his mind. That's because chip industry insiders widely expected the Trump administration to impose curbs on the H20, the most cutting-edge AI chip U.S. companies can legally sell to China, a crucial market to one of the world's most valuable companies. Following the Mar-a-Lago dinner, the White House reversed course on H20 chips, putting the plan for additional restrictions on hold, according to two sources with knowledge of the plan who were not authorized to speak publicly. The planned American export controls on the H20 had been in the works for months, according to the two sources, and were ready to be implemented as soon as this week. The change of course from the White House came after Nvidia promised the Trump administration new U.S. investments in AI data centers, according to one of the sources. American lawmakers have been pressuring the Trump administration for weeks to place stricter curbs on cutting edge technology related to artificial intelligence. In February, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., jointly called for export controls on the H20 chip after Chinese tech company DeepSeek unveiled a breakthrough AI chatbot that stunned the world in January. The Trump administration's decision to allow Chinese firms to continue to purchase H20 chips is a major victory for the country, said Chris Miller, a Tufts University history professor and semiconductor expert. "Even though these chips are specifically modified to reduce their performance thus making them legal to sell to China -- they are better than many, perhaps most, of China's homegrown chips," Miller said. "China still can't produce the volume of chips it needs domestically, so it is critically reliant on imports of Nvidia chips." The White House and the Commerce Department did not return requests for comment. A spokesman for Nvidia declined to comment. It is unclear if Huang spoke directly to Trump during the Friday event, but two sources say until then, the assumption had been that Washington's trade war with China would soon include tight controls on the H20 chip -- which were among the chips used by DeepSeek. Since 2022, U.S. regulators have restricted what semiconductor chips Nvidia can sell to China out of fear that Beijing could harness American technology to bolster its AI and military capabilities. The H20 arose under these constraints, becoming the most powerful AI chip it could export to China under the law. This year, the H20 chip has become increasingly coveted by artificial intelligence companies, because it is designed to support inference, a computational process used to support AI models like China's DeepSeek and other AI agents being developed by Meta and OpenAI. As a result, the H20 had appeared as if it, too, would be subject to a Trump administration crack down. And tech companies in China responded. In the first three months of the year, leading Chinese tech firms purchased $16 billion worth of H20 chips, The Information reported last week, stockpiling the components in anticipation there would soon be U.S. export controls on the chip. Despite mounting political pressure to broaden American export controls to cover the H20 chip, the regulatory process has encountered delays, in part because of a lack of staff at the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), the Commerce Department office responsible for designing and enforcing such controls, according to a third person familiar with the agency's operations who was also not authorized to speak publicly. BIS has been hobbled by federal cuts and reshuffling under the Trump administration. The country's most senior export control expert, Matthew Boreman, left BIS this year as part of an exodus in February of senior agency staff. President Trump has also moved fast to dismantle and reorganize technology policies implemented by the Biden administration, particularly the CHIPS Act, which authorized $39 billion in subsidies for companies to invest in semiconductor supply chains in the U.S. Last month, Trump ordered the establishment of a new investment "accelerator" office which will take over much of the portfolio of semiconductor investment work from CHIPS Act staff laid off from National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, a federal agency hit hard by ongoing federal restructuring efforts.

NVIDIA can still sell H20 AI GPUs to China after CEO Jensen Huang has dinner at Mar-a-Lago

TL;DR: The US government reversed its plan to restrict NVIDIA's H20 AI GPU exports to China after CEO Jensen Huang's meeting with President Trump. This decision followed NVIDIA's promise to invest $200 billion in US AI infrastructure. The move is seen as a significant win for the US, as China remains reliant on NVIDIA chips due to its limited domestic production capabilities. The US government has just reversed its plans to restrict exports of NVIDIA's H20 AI GPU to China, after CEO Jensen Huang had dinner at Mar-a-Lago with President Trump and his administration. In a new report from NPR that cites two sources, the newly-tweaked US export controls on the H20 AI GPU had been in the works for a few months now, and that the change in plans kicked off after NVIDIA promised the Trump administration that it would be investing around $200 billion into new US investments in AI data centers. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang recently attended a dinner at Mar-a-Lago, with the Trump administration reversing its restrictions on the H20 AI GPU entering China. Not only that, but the Trump administration also had planned to roll out additional restrictions, but they too have been put on hold according to "two sources with knowledge of the plan who were not authorized to speak publicly" adds NPR. The Trump administration's decision to allow Chinese companies to continue purchasing NVIDIA H20 AI GPUs is a "major victory" for the United States, says Chris Miller, a Tufts University history professor and semiconductor expert. Miller added: "Even though these chips are specifically modified to reduce their performance thus making them legal to sell to China - they are better than many, perhaps most, of China's homegrown chips. China still can't produce the volume of chips it needs domestically, so it is critically reliant on imports of NVIDIA chips". We don't know if Jensen Huang spoke directly with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago, but we do know that NVIDIA promised to invest $200 billion into US-based investments into AI infrastructure on American soil.

Trump administration backs off Nvidia's H20 chip crackdown after Mar-a-Lago dinner: Report

The Trump administration has reversed course on plans to restrict exports of Nvidia's H20 artificial intelligence chips to China after CEO Jensen Huang attended a Mar-a-Lago dinner last week, NPR reported on Wednesday. The planned American export controls on the chips - the most advanced AI processor legally available in China under U.S. export controls - had been in the works for months, NPR reported, citing two sources, and were ready to be implemented as soon as this week. The change in plans came after Nvidia promised the Trump administration new U.S. investments in AI data centers, the NPR report said. The White House and Nvidia did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. US President Donald Trump's administration was considering tightening restrictions on the AI leader's sales of its H20 chips designed for the China market, Reuters had reported in January. The idea to restrict shipments of those chips to China has been under consideration since Democratic former President Joe Biden's administration. In February, Reuters exclusively reported a surge in orders for the H20, driven by booming demand for Chinese startup DeepSeek's low-cost AI models. Chinese companies, including ByteDance, Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings , have placed at least $16 billion in orders for Nvidia's H20 server chips in the first three months of the year, the Information reported last week. Two U.S. lawmakers, Republican John Moolenaar and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, called for more restrictions on exports of Nvidia's artificial intelligence chips in late January.

NVIDIA's China H20 AI GPUs Spared By Trump Admin In Return For US AI Data Center Investments - Report

The Trump administration might have decided to spare AI chip designer NVIDIA's H20 GPUs from being targeted by new rules to stop their sales to China. NVIDIA's GPUs were at the center of 2025's first major stock market selloff in January when the firm lost close to $600 billion in market value after Chinese AI startup DeepSeek's AI models demonstrated comparable performance to Western products despite using fewer resources. Since then, NVIDIA's GPUs have been at the center of attention as sources have speculated that the firm's China-specific H20 GPUs might be on the Trump administration's radar for additional sanctions. According to sources quoted by NPR, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang's meeting with President Trump last week was fruitful. The White House has now decided not to impose sanctions prohibiting NVIDIA from selling its H20 GPUs to China. The H20 chips are a custom variant designed for China, and they are the most technologically advanced NVIDIA product that can be sold to the country. NPR outlines that the Trump Administration's H20 sanctions were in the advanced stages and could have been announced as soon as this week. NVIDIA's shares bled last month after media reports highlighted a year-old Chinese document requiring data centers to be environmentally friendly. The selloff indicated the reliance on Chinese revenue for the firm's income statement. NVIDIA's shares are up by 5.9% after having lost 7.6% since the President announced his tariffs last week. As to what made the Trump administration back down, one source claims that NVIDIA promised new investments in US AI data centers. Since taking charge, President Trump has been eager to attract as much domestic investment as possible as part of his efforts to build new plants and factories in America. NVIDIA's chip supplier, Taiwan's Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), announced a $100 billion investment package earlier this year as part of these efforts. Spokespersons for the White House and the Commerce Department did not respond to NPR, while NVIDIA declined to comment. NVIDIA's H20 GPUs have reportedly been in shortage in China as domestic players stocked up this year in anticipation of the new rules. A client notice from a server company that surfaced last month claimed that the chips might be in short supply. The H20 GPUs were also used by DeepSeek to train its AI models, with the firm relying on a deeper-level programming language to control their performance over NVIDIA's standard CUDA programming language. The H20 GPUs are the most advanced AI GPUs that Chinese firms can lay their hands on, with domestic firms such as Huawei and domestic chip manufacturers such as SMIC being significantly behind their Western and Taiwanese counterparts when it comes to chip design and manufacturing.

Jensen Huang Turned The Tide With Mar-A-Lago Dinner? Trump Administration Reportedly Backs Down On H20 Chip China Export Restrictions - Alibaba Gr Hldgs (NYSE:BABA), NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA)

Nvidia Corporation's NVDA stock has dropped 17.34% year-to-date, but the company has now reportedly seen a reversal of planned export restrictions on its H20 artificial intelligence chips. What Happened: The Donald Trump administration had been considering a ban on the export of Nvidia's H20 AI chips to China, which would have been the most advanced AI processors legally available to Chinese companies. These restrictions had been in the works for months and were expected to be implemented soon. However, after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate last week, the administration has reversed course, reported NPR, citing two sources with knowledge of the plan. See Also: Vietnam, A Hub For US Tech Giants Like Apple And Nvidia, Wants To Talk Trade After Trump Pauses 46% Tariff Nvidia also committed to increasing its U.S. investments in AI data centers, the report said. Why It Matters: Previously, it was reported that Chinese tech giants Tencent Holdings TCEHY, Alibaba Group BABA, and ByteDance have ramped up their orders for Nvidia's H20 AI chips, fueled by soaring demand for computing power driven by the rise of DeepSeek's affordable AI models. These companies have reportedly ordered more than $16 billion worth of Nvidia's H20 server chips during the first quarter of 2025. Last month, it was reported that Nvidia faced challenges due to chip shortages and sanctions disrupting supply. Chinese server maker H3C warned of a potential Nvidia H20 chip crisis, with inventories nearly depleted. Chinese companies are actively seeking ways to lessen their dependence on Nvidia. In March, Qingcheng.AI unveiled "Chitu," a framework optimized for domestically produced chips. Huawei Technologies has also made notable strides in developing its own AI chips, with Huang recognizing the company as a serious competitor. Still, China continues to play a vital role in Nvidia's business. In 2024, the company earned $12 billion from the Chinese market -- doubling Huawei's sales of its Ascend 910B AI chips. Price Action: Nvidia shares jumped 18.72% on Wednesday but dipped 1.53% in after-hours trading, reaching $112.59 at the time of writing, per Benzinga Pro data. According to Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings, Nvidia (NVDA) holds a strong growth rating of 94.83%. You can view the full comparison with other companies by clicking here. Image via Shutterstock Read Next: Microsoft Fires Employee Protestors Who Disrupted 50th Anniversary Event: 'You Have Shown No Remorse For The Effect That Your Actions Have' Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. BABAAlibaba Group Holding Ltd$108.308.99%Stock Score Locked: Want to See it? Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock - anytime. Reveal Full ScoreEdge RankingsMomentum89.76Growth73.12Quality47.16Value83.63Price TrendShortMediumLongOverviewNVDANVIDIA Corp$112.5916.9%TCEHYTencent Holdings Ltd$56.254.19%Got Questions? AskHow will Nvidia benefit from the export shift?Which Chinese tech giants will lead AI chip demand?What impact on AI chip stocks due to export changes?Could HUAWEI compete better against Nvidia?How might Tencent leverage AI advancements?What are the implications for AI data center investments?Will Alibaba increase orders for Nvidia chips?Which chip manufacturers could benefit from Nvidia's challenges?How will DeepSeek's models affect AI chip demand?What are the long-term effects on US-China tech relations?Powered ByMarket News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Trump administration backs off Nvidia's H20 chip crackdown after Mar-a-Lago dinner, NPR reports

(Reuters) - The Trump administration has reversed course on plans to restrict exports of Nvidia's H20 artificial intelligence chips to China after CEO Jensen Huang attended a Mar-a-Lago dinner last week, NPR reported on Wednesday. The planned American export controls on the chips -- the most advanced AI processor legally available in China under U.S. export controls -- had been in the works for months, NPR reported, citing two sources, and were ready to be implemented as soon as this week. The change in plans came after Nvidia promised the Trump administration new U.S. investments in AI data centers, the NPR report said. The White House and Nvidia did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration was considering tightening restrictions on the AI leader's sales of its H20 chips designed for the China market, Reuters had reported in January. The idea to restrict shipments of those chips to China has been under consideration since Democratic former President Joe Biden's administration. In February, Reuters exclusively reported a surge in orders for the H20, driven by booming demand for Chinese startup DeepSeek's low-cost AI models. Chinese companies, including ByteDance, Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings, have placed at least $16 billion in orders for Nvidia's H20 server chips in the first three months of the year, the Information reported last week. Two U.S. lawmakers, Republican John Moolenaar and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, called for more restrictions on exports of Nvidia's artificial intelligence chips in late January. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Alan Barona)

Trump Administration Pausing H20 Chip Restriction Plans, NPR Says

--The White House paused plans to put additional restrictions on H20 artificial-intelligence chips after Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang attended a dinner hosted by President Trump, NPR reported Wednesday, citing two people with knowledge of the situation. --Trump was previously planning to put export controls on the chips, which Nvidia sells to China, NPR said. --The change of course came after Nvidia promised the Trump administration new investments in U.S.-based AI data centers, NPR said. Full story: https://www.npr.org/2025/04/09/nx-s1-5356480/nvidia-china-ai-h20-chips-trump Write to Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com