Nvidia's Huang warns China will 'win the AI race': FT

LONDON

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang warned that China "is going to win" the race to develop next-generation artificial intelligence, urging Washington to speed up its efforts.

The head of the U.S. chip giant told the Financial Times that Beijing's energy subsidies were boosting its drive to build cutting-edge semiconductors used to power AI technology.

"China is going to win the AI race," the British newspaper cited him as saying on Nov. 5 at an event in London.

"As I have long said, China is nanoseconds behind America in AI," he added in a statement posted on X by Nvidia.

"It's vital that America wins by racing ahead and winning developers worldwide."

The California-based Nvidia last week became the world's first $5 trillion company, although its market cap has receded since then to around $4.7 trillion.

Top-end Nvidia chips, used to train and power generative AI systems, are currently not sold in China due to U.S. national security concerns and Chinese government bans.

Earlier this week the White House said it was still not interested in allowing Nvidia to sell its advanced Blackwell chip model in China.

The U.S. has cited the risk of giving China a military advantage as a reason for the block.

Huang has repeatedly petitioned Washington to relax its restrictions on Nvidia chip exports, saying that the policy will only help China advance its own technology.

He also criticised new rules on AI introduced by U.S. states to the Financial Times on Nov. 5, contrasting it to China where the state is subsidising electricity to power the technology.

Western countries including the U.S. and Britain are being held back by "cynicism" over AI, he said.

Experts say that Chinese chipmakers will struggle to match Nvidia's tech prowess before the end of the decade.

Challenges include building the right software to harness the chips' power, and upgrading its manufacturing tools.