Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang arrived in Taipei on Friday for a brief visit to chip manufacturing partner TSMC, as the tech giant faces mounting pressure over its AI chip sales to China.
Huang’s trip comes days before Nvidia’s earnings release and amid escalating U.S.-China tensions over advanced semiconductor exports.
Speaking to reporters at Songshan Airport, Huang said his main purpose was to thank TSMC for its role in developing six new chips, including a next-generation GPU and a silicon photonics processor for Nvidia’s Rubin-architecture supercomputers.
“This is the first architecture in our history where every single chip is new and revolutionary,” Huang said.
TSMC confirmed Huang would deliver an internal speech on his management philosophy during the visit.
The trip follows recent reports that Nvidia has asked suppliers – including Foxconn, Amkor Technology, and Samsung Electronics – to halt work related to its H20 chip, which was designed specifically for the Chinese market after 2023 export restrictions.
The move comes after Chinese regulators raised concerns about potential security risks, despite Nvidia’s insistence that its chips contain no backdoors.
Huang acknowledged that Nvidia is in discussions with the U.S. government about a successor to the H20, tentatively named the B30A, based on the company’s latest Blackwell architecture. However, he emphasized that any decision would rest with U.S. authorities.
“It’s up to the U.S. government, and we are in dialogue with them, but it is too soon to know,” Huang said.
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signaled openness to allowing more advanced Nvidia chips to be sold in China, under a deal that would see the U.S. government receive 15% of related revenues.
Nvidia resumed H20 sales in July and placed orders for 300,000 units with TSMC, but paused further production amid regulatory scrutiny.
The company says it is managing its supply chain based on market conditions and is awaiting purchase orders from Chinese customers.
“The ability to ship the H20 chips to China is very much appreciated,” Huang added, stressing that the product is not intended for military or government infrastructure.
