The U.S. government is contemplating further restricting sales of artificial intelligence processors to Chinese companies, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. The Biden administration is reportedly concerned that Chinese firms have access to top-notch AI technologies, either by going through other countries or by leasing hardware from companies such as Amazon.
The U.S. Commerce Department may take prompt action and require companies like Nvidia to first obtain an export license and only then ship their products to customers in China and other potentially problematic nations, the report claims, citing sources familiar with the matter. The new curbs may become effective as early as next month and therefore could have a drastic effect on the finances of Nvidia and other companies that benefit from AI and HPC megatrends.
