Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the company will not develop another chip based on its Hopper architecture for China, as U.S. government restrictions on advanced semiconductor exports continue to limit its options. Speaking on Saturday via a livestream hosted by Taiwan’s Formosa TV News network, Huang confirmed that the current H20 chip will be the final iteration from the Hopper line available to Chinese customers.
“It’s not Hopper because it’s not possible to modify Hopper anymore,” Huang said, when asked about the company’s next AI chip for China.
The remarks come as Nvidia evaluates its broader strategy in the Chinese market, which generated $17 billion in revenue in the fiscal year ending January 26 — representing 13% of the company’s global sales. Huang, who has regularly highlighted China’s importance to Nvidia’s growth, visited the country shortly after the U.S. government imposed fresh export restrictions on the H20 chip, Nvidia’s only AI product legally allowed for sale in China.
Reuters previously reported that Nvidia plans to release a scaled-down version of the H20 within the next two months to maintain its presence in China, where it is facing increasing competition from domestic players like Huawei.
The export controls stem from the U.S. Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion, introduced in January shortly before the end of former President Joe Biden’s term. The initiative aimed to curb the global spread of high-end AI technologies, particularly to countries seen as strategic competitors.
Huang expressed disagreement with the current regulatory approach, stating that earlier AI export policies were misguided. “They should have been focused on maximising U.S. technology globally,” he said.
Former President Donald Trump has pledged to revoke the AI diffusion rules if elected again, a move that could potentially ease the restrictions faced by companies like Nvidia.
