Trump and Nvidia CEO Discuss AI Developments and Export Regulations

U.S. President Donald Trump recently met with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the White House to discuss the company's involvement in artificial intelligence (AI) and the tightening of AI chip exports. This meeting took place as the government prepares to impose further restrictions on AI chip exports in an effort to maintain advanced computing power within the U.S. and its allies, while simultaneously attempting to limit China's access to these technologies.

During the meeting, Trump referred to Huang as a "gentleman" and noted that it was a productive discussion, although he did not go into specifics about the content of their conversation.

DeepSeek and AI Development

The discussion also touched on DeepSeek, a Chinese company that has made waves in the tech world with its impressive AI model. DeepSeek has recently introduced a free assistant that claims to use less data than similar models from U.S. companies, raising concerns that China is closing the gap in AI development.

DeepSeek's app quickly became the most downloaded application on Apple's App Store, which caused a significant drop in the value of U.S. tech stocks, erasing approximately $1 trillion of market value. This situation heavily affected shares of Nvidia, known for supplying some of the most advanced AI chips, which fell by 17% at one point.

Stricter Export Controls Considered

The Trump administration is contemplating stricter regulations on the sale of Nvidia's H20 chips which are aimed at the Chinese market. Discussions regarding these restrictions are in the early stages but have been on the agenda since the Biden administration. The H20 chips are designed to comply with existing U.S. export controls aimed at China.

Two U.S. lawmakers, Republican John Moolenaar and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, are advocating for tighter restrictions on exports of AI chips from Nvidia. They are urging for this review of the export control system to prioritize national security in light of evolving international competition.

Prior to this, in 2022, the Biden administration limited sales of Nvidia's most powerful AI chip, the H100, to China. Following this, Nvidia released a variant, the H800, which complied with these restrictions but was also limited in 2023.

Amidst these developments, reports have surfaced indicating that the U.S. Commerce Department is investigating whether DeepSeek has utilized U.S. chips that are prohibited from being shipped to China.

Trump, Nvidia, DeepSeek