Sens. Warren, Banks, criticize Nvidia’s plans for Chinese facility

Plans for an Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) facility in China have been criticized by two U.S. senators, with the lawmakers raising ire over national security concerns.

The facility “raises significant national security and economic security issues that warrant serious review,” Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Jim Banks wrote in a letter to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, which was obtained by The Wall Street Journal.

The senators also asked that Nvidia offer up a comprehensive timeline and description of the facility; they also expressed concern about the job postings Nvidia has in China. However, roughly half of the world’s artificial intelligence researchers are Chinese, a source familiar with the matter told Seeking Alpha.

“Nvidia is simply leasing a new space for existing employees, who need the room in the post-COVID return to work,” an Nvidia spokesperson told Seeking Alpha in response to the letter. “The scope of work will remain unchanged.”

It was reported earlier this month that Nvidia is planning to establish a new center in Shanghai in a bid to grow its presence in the Chinese market. Nvidia said at the time it would not be “shipping any GPU designs to China to be altered in order to comply with export controls.”

The letter comes after Nvidia reported better-than-expected results and guidance, both of which were impacted by the recent export controls to China.