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Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, is currently in Washington, D.C., where he is scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump on Friday afternoon, as confirmed by CNBC.
The primary focus of their discussion is anticipated to be U.S. artificial intelligence policy, according to sources who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the meeting. Another potential topic is DeepSeek, a technology firm from China, although the gathering is also seen as a platform for the two leaders to establish a rapport.
In recent months, a number of top technology executives have shown a stronger inclination to engage with Trump compared to his first term. This meeting marks the first time Huang will interface with Trump following the latter’s inauguration for a second term last week.
Many prominent tech figures were present at Trump’s inauguration, including Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Google’s Sundar Pichai, Apple’s Tim Cook, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, and OpenAI’s Sam Altman. These executives contributed to the inaugural event, either individually or through their respective companies.
Elon Musk, who leads Tesla and SpaceX, has become one of Trump’s key advisors after making substantial financial contributions to his campaign. Musk is also responsible for shaping policy as part of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an external advisory council created under Trump’s administration.
On the day of the inauguration, Huang chose to visit Nvidia’s offices in China.
The agenda for Huang and Trump’s meeting is substantial, particularly as Nvidia has become the third most valuable company in the U.S. and is currently navigating complex regulatory hurdles associated with the global demand for its AI chips. The company’s most advanced GPUs are subject to export restrictions, which prevent sales to nations like China and Russia, with additional restrictions expected to be imposed shortly on other countries as well here.
Reports confirm that the Biden administration is assessing ongoing U.S. chip export restrictions on China.
It is also likely that Huang and Trump will address the new diffusion rules implemented at the end of the Biden administration. These regulations impose significant limitations on chip sales to foreign countries, provoking strong backlash from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices. These rules are slated to take effect this year, though Trump holds the authority to rescind them.
Conversations during the meeting are expected to include discussions about enhancing U.S. semiconductor production capabilities. The Commerce Department is considering revising the previous administration’s CHIPS Act, which provided subsidies to companies like Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. for the establishment of new chip manufacturing facilities domestically. Currently, a majority of Nvidia’s chips are produced at cutting-edge factories in Taiwan that are managed by TSMC.
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