Chipmakers Nvidia and AMD have struck an unprecedented deal with the US government, agreeing to hand over 15% of their Chinese revenues in exchange for licences to sell restricted chips in the country, the BBC has learned.
The US had previously barred the sale of high-performance chips—vital for artificial intelligence (AI) applications—to China under export controls tied to national security. Security experts, including some who served in Donald Trump’s first term, had warned that Nvidia’s H20 chip could significantly enhance China’s AI capabilities.
Trump dismissed such concerns on Monday, describing the H20 as “old”. Under the new arrangement, Nvidia will pay 15% of its Chinese sales from the H20 chip to Washington, while AMD will make the same commitment for its MI308 chip revenues.
Nvidia told the BBC it complies with US rules for global markets and noted it has not shipped H20 chips to China for months, but hopes future export rules will allow American firms to remain competitive. AMD has yet to comment.
The deal has sparked criticism in Washington. Deborah Elms, head of trade policy at the Hinrich Foundation, said: “If you have a national security problem, a 15% payment doesn’t remove it.” Some critics labelled it a “shakedown” or an illegal export tax, with former Biden official Peter Harrell warning that the precedent was dangerous.
Democratic congressman Jake Auchincloss added: “Now the US government is financially motivated to sell AI to China? Makes me shudder to think what a TikTok deal might look like.”
The H20 was designed specifically for China after Biden-era export restrictions in 2023, but sales were effectively halted by Trump’s administration earlier this year. Beijing has accused the US of “abusing export control measures” and “engaging in unilateral bullying”.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has lobbied both sides for months to resume China sales, even meeting President Trump last week. Analysts say the agreement highlights the soaring costs of market access amid growing US-China tech tensions. angel reese nudes
The news comes as Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan met with Trump at the White House after the president called for his resignation over alleged China ties—claims Mr Tan has denied.
