Nvidia Corp cofounder and chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taipei today to visit chip foundry partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), as the world's most valuable company navigates rising friction between Washington and Beijing over access to its industry-leading artificial intelligence (AI) chips.
"My main purpose coming here is to visit TSMC," he told reporters, adding that he would only stay a few hours and leave after dinner with TSMC leaders, according to a live feed broadcast by local media at Taipei's Songshan airport, where he landed in a private jet.
TSMC confirmed Huang’s visit, saying it was an honor to host him and that he shared his business philosophy with managers at the company.
Photo: Vanessa Cho, Taipei Times
US President Donald Trump earlier this month opened the door to the possibility of more advanced Nvidia chips beyond the H20 being sold in China.
Reuters earlier this week reported that Nvidia was working on a new chip tentatively named the B30A based on its latest Blackwell architecture that would be more powerful than the H20 model.
Asked about the B30A, Huang said Nvidia was in talks with the US over offering China a successor to its H20 chip, but that it was not the company's decision to make.
"It’s up to, of course, the US government, and we are in dialogue with them, but it is too soon to know." he said.
Nvidia only received permission last month to recommence sales of the H20. It was developed specifically for China after export restrictions were put in place in 2023, but the company was abruptly ordered to stop sales in April.
Shortly after Washington's greenlight, Nvidia placed orders for 300,000 H20 chips with TSMC to add to its existing inventory due to strong demand from Chinese companies, Reuters reported. However, Nvidia was days later hit by allegations from China's cyberspace regulator and state media that the US company's chips could pose security risks.
Chinese authorities later cautioned Chinese tech firms about purchasing the H20, raising concerns about potential information security risks. Nvidia says its chips have no backdoor risks.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has been asked by Nvidia to stop work related to the H20 chip, Reuters reported today, citing two people briefed on the matter. A third source said that Nvidia wanted to first work through its existing H20 inventory.
Hon Hai did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trade publication The Information reported yesterday that Nvidia instructed Arizona-based Amkor Technology Inc to stop production of its H20 chips this week and also notified South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co, citing two people with direct knowledge of the communications.
Amkor handles advanced packaging for the chip, while Samsung supplies high-bandwidth memory chips for the model.
Neither company immediately responded to a Reuters request for comment.
"We constantly manage our supply chain to address market conditions," Nvidia spokesperson said in a statement, adding, "As both governments recognize, the H20 is not a military product or for government infrastructure."
Huang said that shipping the H20 to China was not a national security concern and that the ability to ship the H20 chips to China was "very much appreciated."
Earlier this month, the Trump administration reached a deal with Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices Inc under which the US government would receive 15 percent of revenue from sales of some advanced chips in China.
Additional reporting by Grace Hung
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