US tightens screws on Nvidia’s H20 chip exports to China

US President Donald Trump's administration is considering tightening restrictions on artificial intelligence leader Nvidia's sales of its H20 chips designed for the China market, three people familiar with the matter said.

Conversations to restrict shipments of those chips to China are in very early stages among Trump officials, the people said, adding the idea has been under consideration since Democratic former President Joe Biden's administration.

H20 chips can be used to run AI software and were designed to comply with existing US curbs on shipments to China, spearheaded by Biden.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment. Nvidia said in a statement it is "ready to work with the administration as it pursues its own approach to AI."

Nvidia shares, which were already down for the day, added slightly to losses after the news, first reported by Bloomberg.

While Nvidiafaced difficulties, another chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, announcedthat first-quarter revenue jumped 42percent, slightly ahead of a market consensus, benefiting from the boom in artificial intelligence.

With customers including Apple and Nvidia, its revenue for January to March came in at T$839.3 billion (HK$199.7 billion), TSMC said in a brief statement.

Taiwan's Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics maker and which makes AI servers for Nvidia, has also reported bumper sales, logging its highest-ever revenue for the first quarter. REUTERS