Nvidia criticizes reported Biden plan for AI chip export curbs

Nvidia criticized a reported plan by the Joe Biden administration to impose new restrictions on AI chip exports, saying that the outgoing US leader should not "preempt incoming President Trump" by enacting a last-minute policy.

"We would encourage President Biden to not preempt incoming President Trump by enacting a policy that will only harm the US economy, set America back, and play into the hands of US adversaries," Nvidia Vice President Ned Finkle said in an emailed statement.

The US Commerce Department and the White House did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment outside regular business hours.

Reuters reported exclusive details last month on the Commerce Department's plan for approving global AI chip exports while also preventing bad actors from accessing them. A key aim of the restrictions is to keep AI from supercharging China's military capabilities.

Bloomberg News reported on Thursday that new export regulations could be announced soon, adding that a group of US adversaries would effectively get blocked from importing these chips, while the vast majority of the world would face limits on the total computing power that can go to one country.

Nvidia's Finkle said the reported policy was disguised as an "anti-China move" and warned that the extreme country cap will affect computers around the world and push the world to alternative technologies.

"This last-minute Biden administration policy would be a legacy that will be criticized by US industry and the global community," Finkle said.

The Information Technology Industry Council, representing companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Meta, has said the rule would place arbitrary constraints on US companies' ability to sell computing systems overseas and cede the global market to competitors.

US President-elect Donald Trump, in his first term in office, imposed restrictions on the sale of US technology to China citing national security. Trump's second term begins on Jan. 20.

Nvidia shares were down more than 1 per cent during extended trading on Thursday after the Bloomberg report.