Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said he would like the US President Donald Trump's administration to change regulations for exporting artificial intelligence (AI) technology from the US to the rest of the world so American businesses can better capitalize on the opportunities in the future.
“We need to accelerate the diffusion of American AI technology around the world,” Huang said in a brief meeting yesterday with reporters in Washington. “The policies and encouragement from the administration really need to support that.”
Nvidia sells the leading AI chips for training AI models, including for OpenAI, but it’s been banned from selling its most-advanced products to customers in China. The former US president Joe Biden's administration had sketched out an additional policy for AI diffusion, or limiting the sale of AI technology to countries around the world based on three bands of qualification.
Photo: Bloomberg
“I’m not sure what the new diffusion rule is going to be, but whatever it turns out to be, it really has to recognize that the world has changed fundamentally since the previous diffusion rule was released,” Huang said.
He also cautioned that China is growing into a formidable rival in technology, and he singled out Huawei Technologies Co (華為), the Chinese telecom giant that has expanded into designing its own AI chips.
“China is not behind,” he said. “Are they ahead of us? China is right behind us. We’re very, very close.”
Huang made the remarks during a trip to Washington that included an appearance at the Hill and Valley Forum, a gathering of tech leaders and US legislators.
When asked about Trump’s tariffs, Huang said, “There should always be policy that enables, supports and accelerates our ability to on-shore manufacturing.”
Nvidia relies on production partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), which has begun making some chips in Arizona. That company has long manufactured Nvidia’s most advanced products in Taiwan.
“With willpower and with the resources of our country, I’m certain we can manufacture on shore,” Huang said.
Later, he attended a White House event where Trump touted US investment pledges from a range of companies since his inauguration in January. Nvidia has promised to produce as much as US$500 billion in AI infrastructure domestically, and Huang pressed Trump yesterday to help meet growing electricity demand from AI.
“We also need a progressive growth- and industry-oriented energy policy, which this president has really put his weight behind,” Huang said at the White House. “Without energy, we can’t possibly have new growth industries.”
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