NVIDIA Announces Imminent Resumption of H20 AI Chip Sales to China After Securing US Government Assurances

Nvidia Corporation announced on Tuesday that it anticipates resuming sales of its H20 general processing units (GPUs) to China, marking a significant development for the company following U.S. export restrictions.

In April, the U.S. government mandated that Nvidia secure a license to sell the chips to China, as stated in a company filing. This ruling effectively halted their sales, as the H20 GPUs were specifically designed to circumvent earlier export controls on Beijing.

According to a statement released by Nvidia, “The U.S. government has assured NVIDIA that licenses will be granted, and NVIDIA hopes to commence deliveries soon.”

Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, has been actively lobbying against export controls, arguing that they impede American technological leadership. In May, Huang asserted that chip restrictions had already reduced Nvidia’s market share in China by nearly half.

This potential change in U.S. policy follows a meeting between Huang and President Donald Trump last week. During the discussion, Huang reaffirmed Nvidia’s support for the administration’s initiatives focused on job creation, onshoring, and America’s leadership in artificial intelligence (AI).

The recent trade agreement between Washington and Beijing allowed for the relaxation of rare-earth export controls by China and the easing of tech export curbs by the U.S.

Huang also unveiled a new GPU, the RTX PRO, which he claimed is ideal for smart factories and logistics. The specificity of this reference to the GPU’s compliance with guidelines for exports to China remains unclear.

Since May, reports have suggested that Nvidia has been developing a new AI chip for the Chinese market, one that would be less advanced than the H20.

However, the potential resumption of H20 chips to China comes as a surprise, according to Ray Wang, research director of semiconductors, supply chain, and emerging technology at Futurum Group. Wang told CNBC that “The lifting of the H20 ban marks a significant and positive development for Nvidia, which will enable the company to reinforce its leadership in China.”

Wang further stated, “The resumption of H20 shipments — alongside the upcoming rollout of new export control-compliant AI chips for the Chinese market — should serve as a fresh growth catalyst in the coming quarters.”

In addition, Nvidia confirmed that Huang is currently in China where he has been meeting with government and industry officials to discuss the benefits of AI and ways for researchers to advance safe and secure AI.