Nvidia Restarts H20 Shipments as China’s AI Market Surges

- CEO Jensen Huang announces resumption of H20 chip shipments to China. - Decision follows eased U.S. export controls, highlights China’s $98 billion AI market. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang confirmed the company will resume shipments of its H20 chips to China, a decision that follows the U.S. government's recent approval to ease export restrictions. Huang made the announcement on July 16, 2025, during his keynote speech at the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing, where he highlighted China’s leadership in advancing artificial intelligence (AI). During his speech, Huang praised China's thriving open-source AI ecosystem and acknowledged its contributions to shaping cutting-edge AI advancements globally. He specifically commended Chinese firms DeepSeek, Alibaba, Tencent, MiniMax, and Baidu for their world-class large language models, emphasizing that openly sharing these technologies catalyzes AI innovation worldwide. This move ends a period of uncertainty created by stricter U.S. export controls on critical semiconductor technologies, making the H20 GPU—a chip Nvidia specifically tailored to comply with U.S. trade regulations—once again available in the Chinese market. On July 16, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said during the expo that he was "very happy" about the lifted restrictions and confirmed the U.S. Commerce Department will issue licenses for these exports. This development aligns with broader market trends. A forecast from Bank of America projects a 48% surge in AI funding within China this year, with total investments expected to reach approximately $98 billion. For Nvidia, this presents a substantial growth opportunity, as more than 1.5 million Chinese developers already use its platforms to advance AI solutions. Looking ahead, Huang predicted that AI and robotics will transform China’s industrial landscape over the next decade. He described these technologies as foundational tools for factories, similar to electricity or the internet, that will automate repetitive and hazardous tasks. In addition, he highlighted that Chinese companies use Nvidia’s Omniverse platform to create digital twins of factories and warehouses, which optimizes construction and operations before implementation. Huang’s comments underscore Nvidia’s deep integration into China’s AI ecosystem and its strategic alignment with the country’s innovation-driven growth. The easing of export restrictions represents a notable shift, fostering both collaboration and competition within the global AI industry.