Nvidia Lashes Out at Biden's Last-Minute Export Controls on AI Chips and Rushes to Praise Trump

Tech AI Nvidia lashes out at Biden’s last-minute export controls on AI chips and rushes to praise Trump

 By Sharon Goldman Sharon Goldman AI Reporter Down Arrow Button Icon By Sharon Goldman Sharon Goldman AI Reporter Down Arrow Button Icon January 13, 2025, 1:04 PM ET Add us on Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang addresses participants at the keynote of CES 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 6, 2025. Artur Widak / NurPhoto—Getty Images This morning, the Biden Administration dropped a last-minute bombshell on companies at the core of the AI boom: a proposed set of sweeping new rules governing the export of cutting-edge AI chips. The rules also cover the transfer of proprietary model “weights”—often seen as the “brains” of today’s sophisticated generative AI models—to customers in other countries.

 Recommended Video 

 The new rules impose strict limitations on the global flow of AI chips and models, dividing countries into three distinct groups. The United States and 18 of its closest allies—such as Britain, Canada, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan—are exempt from any restrictions. Nations already under U.S. restrictions on the technology transfers remain subject to existing AI chip purchase bans, including China and Russia.

 The big change, however, concerns the rest of the world, which placed in a third category that faces caps on the number of AI chips they can import. These caps can be negotiated upward through special agreements with the U.S. government, but the restrictions extend even to close U.S. trading partners and allies like Mexico, Switzerland, Poland, and Israel.

 

 This strategy is designed to prevent China from accessing advanced AI technologies via third-party countries. But AI chip leaders, most notably Nvidia , which boasts over 80% of the market for the graphics processing units (GPUs), the specialized chips that are at the heart of the AI boom, are not happy. (Along with Nvidia, other AI-related stocks, such as Palantir and Super Micro Computer , fell today in response to the White House’s announcement.)

 In an unusually blunt blog post criticizing the proposed new rules, Ned Finkle, Nvidia’s vice president of government affairs, called them “misguided” and “sweeping overreach,” saying that “in its last days in office, the Biden Administration seeks to undermine America’s leadership with a 200+ page regulatory morass, drafted in secret and without proper legislative review.” 

 The blog post was equally effusive in its praise of Trump, claiming that the first Trump Administration “laid the foundation for America’s current strength and success in AI, fostering an environment where U.S. industry could compete and win on merit without compromising national security.” It also painted an hopeful picture of the new Trump administration: “We look forward to a return to policies that strengthen American leadership, bolster our economy and preserve our competitive edge in AI and beyond.” 

The blog marks a distinct departure from

... (truncated, 11 KB total)