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US President Donald Trump on Monday indicated he might allow Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) to sell a downgraded version of its most advanced AI chip to China.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he would consider a deal permitting shipments of the company’s Blackwell processors if they were made less powerful. “It’s possible I’d make a deal on a somewhat enhanced — in a negative way — Blackwell,” he said, suggesting the chip’s capabilities could be reduced by “30% to 50%.”
At the briefing, Trump faced questions over reports that he struck a deal with Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and AMD (AMD) to grant export licenses for previously banned chips to China, in exchange for the U.S. government receiving 15% of sales revenue.
While analysts and China hawks in Washington warned that supplying China with advanced US chips could aid its military and tech ambitions, Trump defended the deal, saying he initially demanded 20% “for the country” before agreeing to Huang’s counteroffer of 15%. He stressed the arrangement applied “only for the H20,” which he described as “obsolete” and something “China already has in a different form.”
Trump added that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who has met him multiple times to discuss China export restrictions, “is coming to see me again about that” and emphasized it would involve “an unenhanced version of the big one.”