Nvidia criticized the Biden administration for implementing “flawed” rules limiting shipments of AI computer chips — and praised President-elect Donald Trump — in a rare public appearance Monday.
The chip giant — which has ridden the AI wave to become the world’s most valuable company — hit back at last-minute rules unveiled on Monday that limit the number of advanced chips most nations can buy from American firms.
The new policy would also tighten AI-related data export requirements for companies that create closed-source models, such as Google and OpenAI.
“In its final days in office, the Biden administration seeks to undermine America’s leadership with a 200-page regulatory gridlock, drafted in secret and without proper legislative review,” said Ned Finkle, Nvidia’s vice president of external affairs.
“This comprehensive override would impose bureaucratic control over how America’s leading semiconductors, computers, systems and even software are designed and marketed globally,” Finkle added.
Shares of Nvidia fell more than 3% after the Biden administration’s announcement. The company is the largest supplier of advanced graphics processing units, or GPUs, that power data centers connected to AI models.
Finkle said Trump “laid the foundation for America’s current strength and success in AI” during his first term in office and that the Biden administration’s rules could erode that advantage.
“As the First Trump Administration showed, America wins through innovation, competition and sharing our technologies with the world — not by retreating behind a wall of excessive government,” Finkle said.
“We look forward to a return to policies that strengthen American leadership, strengthen our economy, and maintain our competitive edge in AI and beyond.”
Representatives of Trump’s transition team did not immediately return requests for comment.
The rules are scheduled to take effect after a 120-day comment period. That means the Trump administration should have broad discretion over how the measures are implemented and whether any changes are needed.
Officials said the rules are necessary to protect US national security and prevent adversaries such as China and North Korea from gaining access to advanced technology. But critics, including Nvidia, say they are too restrictive and could hurt innovation.
Foreign adversaries such as China, Russia, North Korea and Iran have already faced bans on the export of advanced AI chips. Under the new rule, more than 120 countries – including Israel, Switzerland and Mexico – could also face new restrictions on access to the chip.
A group of 18 close US allies, including Britain, Australia, Canada and Taiwan, will not face any new restrictions, according to the White House.
Additionally, relatively small orders of 1,700 chips or less – described as the “vast majority” of orders – will not require a license or count towards the national chip count.
Companies that provide cloud computing services internationally, such as Microsoft, Amazon and Google, can apply for exemptions provided they meet certain security requirements.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who has led the administration’s efforts to implement export controls, argued that the restrictions would preserve US leadership in artificial intelligence while still protecting national security.
“As AI becomes more powerful, the risks to our national security become more intense,” Raimondo said during a call with reporters.
Nvidia is the latest of several US-based technology firms that have sought closer ties to Trump since his election victory.
Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos have each met with Trump in recent weeks, while X owner Elon Musk is a key adviser to the president-elect.
Trump has pledged to support American tech innovation and has appointed former PayPal executive David Sacks to serve as the White House’s “Artificial Intelligence and Crypto Czar,” a newly created position.
By postal wire
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