President Donald Trump met with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the White House on Friday to discuss the emergence of Chinese AI firm DeepSeek and the potential tightening of AI chip export regulations.
While President Trump did not disclose specific details from the meeting, he described Huang as a “gentleman” and characterized their discussion as productive. “I can’t say what’s gonna happen. We had a meeting. It was a good meeting,” Trump stated.
The meeting occurred amid the U.S. government’s plans to further restrict AI chip exports this spring. The goal is to retain advanced computing capabilities within the United States and its allies while curbing China’s technological advancements.
“We appreciated the opportunity to meet with President Trump and discuss semiconductors and AI policy,” an Nvidia spokesperson said. Jensen and the President discussed the importance of strengthening U.S. technology and AI leadership.”
The meeting was arranged before DeepSeek’s recent technological breakthrough, which has raised alarms across the tech industry. DeepSeek launched a cost-effective AI assistant last week that quickly surged to the top of Apple’s App Store downloads, intensifying concerns about the United States’ competitive edge in AI.
The news triggered a significant market reaction, leading to a $1 trillion drop in U.S. technology stocks. At one point, Nvidia shares fell 17%.
Sources indicated that President Trump views DeepSeek’s rise as a potential signal that U.S. companies might not need to invest heavily in developing low-cost AI alternatives; the administration is considering stricter measures on Nvidia’s sales of its H20 chips to China. These chips, designed to comply with current export restrictions implemented under former President Joe Biden, can run advanced AI software.
Discussions regarding the new restrictions are preliminary but have been under review since the previous administration. Additionally, bipartisan lawmakers, including Republican John Moolenaar and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, advocate for more stringent export controls. They urge the Commerce and State Departments to reassess the U.S. export control framework in response to “developments involving strategic adversaries.”
In 2022, the Biden administration limited sales of Nvidia’s H100 AI chips to China, prompting the release of the H800 model, which complied with export thresholds. This variant was later restricted in 2023, leading to the development of the H20 chip last year.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Commerce Department is investigating whether DeepSeek has been utilizing restricted U.S. chips in its AI models, adding another layer of scrutiny to the unfolding situation.
