How Nvidia’s Jensen Huang – and Trump – jumped the guardrails
Inside the lobbying muscle that helped Nvidia shape US government’s export controls.
In January, Nvidia's general counsel delivered a stern warning to several government officials regarding chip export controls. The directive was conveyed by Nvidia's Tim Teter, who informed the officials that Donald Trump and his friend Jensen Huang wanted the process to move swiftly. The main issue at hand was the proposed conditions for exporting Nvidia's H200 chips to China, which included requirements for chip sellers to know their cloud customers and conduct know-your-customer checks on buyers purchasing in large quantities.
Nvidia objected to these conditions, arguing they were overly restrictive and potentially damaging to their business. They proposed a higher threshold for the know-your-customer checks and argued that end-of-life conditions should only apply to chips facing export controls. While it's not uncommon for corporations to collaborate with US government agencies, Nvidia's influence in shaping these guidelines was unprecedented, potentially impacting global security and the industry.
The discussions have gained significance since Huang's resignation following reports of extramarital affairs. The White House and a spokesperson for the Bureau of Industry and Security stated that Nvidia's actions were standard practice, while a former government official described their relationship as adversarial and personal.
Nvidia lobbyists often invoked Trump's name to push their agenda, and sometimes even gaslight government officials and legislators, creating a significant trust deficit between the government and Nvidia.
Written by urgent.news from Semafor's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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