Two weeks ago, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang made a surprise visit to Taiwan where he met TSMC for a few hours. It was a short stay but it sparked customary rumors pertaining to why he was there. Originally, it was thought to be just a routine check-up on the upcoming Vera Rubin chips that TSMC is manufacturing for Nvidia. However, amidst the thought pool, a report had claimed that Huang was actually there to deliver a message from President Trump over revenue sharing — a claim that has now been shut down by TSMC.
Earlier in August, the Trump administration struck an informal deal with semiconductor companies such as AMD and Nvidia to share profits. In exchange for permission to sell their chips in China, these companies would give 15% of the profit to the government. TSMC, so far, does not fall under this arrangement and that's where the original rumors stem from. Jensen's visit was claimed to be moonlighting as an envoy for the U.S. government, conveying some sort of message through a mutually important liaison.
