Trade war: Nvidia CEO warns China will win AI race

BEINJING: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang warned that China “is going to win” the race to develop next-generation artificial intelligence, urging Washington to speed up its efforts.

Huang issued the warning amid the ongoing US-China trade war that has turned global after President Trump assumed office and introduced higher tariffs as main policy tool to forward US interests and objectives around the world.

The head of the US chip giant told the Financial Times that Beijing’s energy subsidies were boosting its drive to build cutting-edge semiconductors used to power AI technology.

“China is going to win the AI race,” the British newspaper cited him as saying on Wednesday at an event in London.

“As I have long said, China is nanoseconds behind America in AI,” he added in a statement posted on X by Nvidia.

“It’s vital that America wins by racing ahead and winning developers worldwide.”

The artificial intelligence chip leader’s chief in October said that the US can win the AI battle if the world, including China’s massive developer base, runs on Nvidia systems. He, however, lamented that the Chinese government has shut it out of its market.

OF AI CHIPS AND SECURITY

The California-based Nvidia last week became the world’s first $5 trillion company, although its market cap has receded since then to around $4.7 trillion.

Top-end Nvidia chips — used to train and power generative AI systems — are currently not sold in China due to US national security concerns and Chinese government bans.

Read more: China tells tech firms to stop buying Nvidia AI chips: FT

Earlier this week, the White House said it was still not interested in allowing Nvidia to sell its advanced Blackwell chip model in China.

The United States has cited the risk of giving China a military advantage as a reason for the block.

Huang has repeatedly petitioned Washington to relax its restrictions on Nvidia chip exports, saying that the policy will only help China advance its own technology.

The leather jacket-clad businessman also criticised new rules on AI introduced by US states to the Financial Times on Wednesday, contrasting it to China where the state is subsidising electricity to power the technology.

Western countries including the United States and Britain are being held back by “cynicism” over AI, he said.

Experts say that Chinese chipmakers will struggle to match Nvidia’s tech prowess before the end of the decade.

Challenges include building the right software to harness the chips’ power, and upgrading its manufacturing tools.