Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang, a leading player in artificial intelligence (AI) chips, said there is 'no evidence' that the company's latest artificial intelligence (AI) chips are 'secretly' making their way to China.
While visiting Taipei, Taiwan, on the 17th (local time), Huang noted in an interview with Bloomberg News that 'Nvidia's hardware is physically large, making it difficult to smuggle across borders, and customers are strictly monitoring themselves as they are aware that transfers are not allowed.'
Nvidia's latest flagship product is sold as an integrated system consisting of up to 72 graphics processing units (GPUs) and 36 processors. He explained, 'There is absolutely no evidence that any AI chip has transferred; this is a massive system, and the Grace Blackwell system weighs nearly 2 tons, so you can't just put it in your pocket or backpack.'
He further emphasized, 'The important thing is that the countries and corporations where we sell our products know that transfers are prohibited, and everyone wants to continue using Nvidia technology, so they monitor themselves very strictly.'
Huang, who accompanied U.S. President Donald Trump's delegation during a visit to the Middle East, highly praised the likelihood that the Trump administration would abolish the AI semiconductor export control policies established by previous administrations. In particular, Nvidia has secured the ability to sell its AI chips to the Middle East, which has raised concerns that U.S.-made AI chips could be transferred to China during the Biden administration, by agreeing to supply 18,000 of its latest AI chips to Saudi Arabia. In response to a question about whether he plans to prioritize Middle Eastern customers, he said, 'If we have appropriate demand forecasts, we can produce enough technology for everyone.'
However, regarding whether its AI chip exports violated U.S. trade sanctions against China, the Singapore branch is currently under investigation. He said, 'Limiting the global dissemination of American technology is completely wrong,' adding, 'It is right to spread American technology as widely as possible worldwide.'
Huang also revealed during an appearance on Taiwan's Formosa TV that he will not launch the Hopper series semiconductors in the Chinese market after the H20. In response to a question about chips to supply to the Chinese market after the H20, he said, 'It won't be Hopper,' explaining, 'It is impossible to modify Hopper any further.'
The H20 has been the only artificial intelligence chip that Nvidia could legally sell in China, but the Trump administration recently restricted the export of the H20. Earlier, Reuters reported that Nvidia plans to launch a lower version of the H20 chip in China within two months.