Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has stated that the company has “largely conceded” the Chinese AI chip market to Huawei, a move driven by U.S. export restrictions.
Despite this concession, Nvidia reported a strong quarter with revenue up 85%, and the company is exploring growth opportunities in the broader AI economy by investing in its supply chain and various layers of the AI industry.
In a candid admission that underscores the shifting global AI landscape, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated that the company has "largely conceded" China's artificial intelligence chip market to domestic rival Huawei. This strategic retreat comes as stringent U.S. export restrictions continue to reshape the semiconductor industry, forcing a recalibration of market access for leading technology firms.
Huang's remarks were made against the backdrop of Nvidia's stellar financial performance, with the company reporting a remarkable 85% surge in revenue to $81.62 billion for the quarter. Alongside this strong financial showing, Nvidia announced an $80 billion share buyback program and an increased dividend, highlighting its robust market position in other sectors.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the company has "largely conceded" China's artificial intelligence chip market to Huawei, as U.S. export restrictions continue to reshape the global AI semiconductor landscape.
Huang's comments came as Nvidia reported another blockbuster quarter, with revenue surging 85% to $81.62 billion from $44.06 billion a year earlier. The company also unveiled an $80 billion share buyback program and raised its dividend.
However, China remained a key flashpoint.
"The demand in China is quite large," Huang told CNBC's Sara Eisen. "Huawei is very, very strong. They had a record year, they'll likely, very likely, have an extraordinary year coming up, and their local ecosystem of chip companies are doing quite well, because we've evacuated that market."
"We've really largely conceded that market to them," he added.
The remarks underscore how Washington's tightening restrictions on advanced AI chip exports have accelerated Beijing's push toward semiconductor self-sufficiency.
The Chinese market once accounted for at least one-fifth of Nvidia's data center revenue. However, the company has effectively been shut out of the market after the Trump administration told Nvidia in April that it would need a license to export chips to China and to a handful of other countries.
In the interview with CNBC, Huang struck a cautious tone on prospects for any near-term reopening of the Chinese market, saying Nvidia had told investors to "expect nothing" regarding approvals to sell advanced chips into the country.
AI industry's 'five-layer cake'
"I don't have any expectation, which is the reason why we put all of our guidance, all of our numbers, all the expectations that I've set with all of our analysts and investors to invest nothing, to expect nothing," Hang said.
Still, he suggested Nvidia remained eager to return should conditions improve.
"We would be more than delighted to serve the market," Huang said. "We have a lot of customers there, we have a lot of partners there, and we've been there for 30 years."
Huang was a last-minute addition to President Donald Trump's China summit last week, though the visit did little to clarify whether Nvidia's H200 chips will be permitted in the country.
Reuters reported last week that some Chinese companies had received approval from the U.S. Commerce Department to purchase H200 chips, including Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance and JD.com.
Still, a U.S. trade representative said chip export controls were not part of discussions during last week's China talks, indicating that any significant easing of restrictions on H200 sales may remain distant.
Nvidia is also expanding its supply chain aggressively as it prepares for what Huang described as a massive growing opportunity tied to the broader AI economy.
"The idea of [a] many times larger company is not out of the question," Huang said, adding that Nvidia was investing heavily across what he called the AI industry's "five-layer cake" spanning energy, chips, infrastructure, models and applications.
Huang said Nvidia's first priority for its growing cash pile was supporting suppliers amid surging demand.
"As we're growing hundreds of billions of dollars at a time, we have to support our supply chain so that they are able to support our growth," he said.
— CNBC's Sarah Eisen and Katie Tarasov contributed to this report.
