Nvidia's Huang on China, Export Controls

I had the chance to catch up with NVIDIA CEO Jensen Wang today while he was in Washington. I spoke with him right before Bloomberg News reported that Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence chips instead of NVIDIA products. This is part of China's bid to counter U.S. sanctions. I asked Wang if he felt U.S. restrictions were effective and he told me it's a balancing act. We have to defer all of the policy making to the administration. They understand that balancing national security versus the prosperity of American technology all over the world. We're exporting American technology, which is really terrific for the United States, that the world is built on American standards. NVIDIA is an American company and our government and the administration would love to see us succeed. And so finding the right balance is very difficult to do, but they're doing a wonderful job. The U.S. banned NVIDIA from selling its most advanced AI processors to Chinese companies in 2022, but NVIDIA has modified some versions of its chips so they can be sold and comply to U.S. regulations. NVIDIA stock has nearly doubled this year due to a boom in artificial intelligence. To support the growing industry, executives like Wang say the U.S. needs to invest more heavily in expanding energy infrastructure for the sector. Just last week, Microsoft signed a deal with Constellation Energy to use nuclear power to support the company's AI energy needs. I asked Wang if he felt nuclear is the way forward. Nuclear is a wonderful way forward as one of the sources of energy, one of the sources of sustainable energy. It won't be the only one. We're going to need energy from all sources and balance the availability and the cost of energy, as well as the sustainability over time. Now, I did ask Wang if he's been in touch with either of the presidential candidates as AI becomes a topic on the campaign trail. He told me he hasn't, but that he trusts whoever wins the White House will do the best thing for the U.S.