Trump locks Nvidia’s most powerful AI chips inside the US

WASHINGTON: In a move that could reshape the global artificial intelligence race, US President Donald Trump has said Nvidia’s most powerful AI chips will be kept exclusively for American companies, shutting out China and other nations from the cutting-edge technology.

Speaking during an interview, Trump said that only US customers should have access to Nvidia’s top-tier Blackwell chips, considered the most advanced semiconductors in the world.

“The most advanced, we will not let anybody have them other than the United States,” Trump said, adding, “We don’t give the Blackwell chip to other people.”

Tighter controls on global chip exports

The comments point to a possible shift in Washington’s export policy, signalling even tougher restrictions on AI chip sales to China and possibly other regions. The move comes despite earlier indications that the administration might loosen some export rules to allies under a new AI strategy announced in July.

Nvidia, which recently became the world’s most valuable company by market capitalisation, has been central to the AI boom. Its Blackwell chips are in high demand across industries, from cloud computing to robotics and defence.

Just days before Trump’s remarks, the company announced plans to supply more than 260,000 Blackwell AI chips to South Korea, including major firms such as Samsung Electronics.

China’s access remains uncertain

The question of whether China will be allowed to buy even scaled-down versions of the Blackwell chips has sparked intense debate in Washington. Trump told CBS that while the US might allow Nvidia to do limited business with Chinese companies, it would not include the most advanced hardware.

“We will let them deal with Nvidia but not in terms of the most advanced,” he said.

The issue has drawn sharp criticism from China-focused lawmakers, who argue that any form of AI chip sales could strengthen Beijing’s military capabilities. Congressman John Moolenaar compared the idea to “giving Iran weapons-grade uranium.”

Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang has also acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding the company’s position in China. He said last week that Beijing had made it clear it did not want Nvidia to operate there at the moment, though he stressed that access to the Chinese market was vital for funding US research and innovation.

Trump had previously hinted at discussing chip exports with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their recent summit in South Korea, but said the topic ultimately never came up.

As tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to mount over technology, the decision to restrict Nvidia’s most advanced chips to American users could further deepen the global divide in AI development.