Nvidia Rushes 300K H2O AI Chips to China After U.S. Ban Reversal, Stoking Security Backlash

Nvidia has called on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to restart production of its China-specific H2O AI chip, placing a new order for 300,000 units despite an existing stockpile of 600,000–700,000.
The move follows a mid-July U.S. policy reversal, which granted Nvidia a license to resume H2O exports to China after an April ban, as part of broader rare-earth mineral negotiations.
• In 2024, Nvidia sold about one million H2O chips in mainland China.
• The resumption has drawn sharp bipartisan criticism from U.S. security experts and lawmakers concerned about advanced AI capabilities flowing to Beijing.

Japan secures preferential chip and pharma tariffs under its new trade agreement with the United States, matching any lower rates Washington offers to other partners. In exchange for reducing tariffs on cars and other goods to 15%, Tokyo has committed a $550 billion investment package to the U.S.

Rather than issue a joint declaration, Japan is focusing on getting President Trump to sign an executive order to implement the agreed 15% tariff rate before finalizing any formal documentation.

Bitmain, the world's largest Bitcoin mining ASIC maker, is set to open its first U.S. factory in early 2026, with full-scale production by year-end. Irene Gao, Bitmain's global business head, says the move — along with a new Texas or Florida headquarters by Q3 2025 — aims to speed delivery and repairs for American customers.

This shift responds to hefty U.S.–China tariffs, regulatory scrutiny and a "Made in America" push bolstered by the Trump administration's pro-Bitcoin policies. Bitmain will hire 250 U.S. workers for manufacturing and facility maintenance in the initial phase.

LG Innotek, the components and materials subsidiary of South Korea's LG Group, has forged a manufacturing and investment partnership with Aeva Technologies, pledging up to $50 million for a roughly 6% equity stake. Under the deal, LG Innotek will produce Aeva's Atlas Ultra 4D LiDAR sensors for leading global passenger vehicle OEMs.

Aeva's proprietary Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) LiDAR-on-chip technology measures both distance and velocity per pixel, offering a "fourth dimension" of sensing. The compact silicon photonics module is designed for scalable integration across:

• Automotive


• Consumer electronics


• Robotics


• Industrial automation

This collaboration aims to accelerate commercialization and reduce production costs, advancing real-time perception in vehicles and beyond.

Nvidia's market cap is closing in on $5 trillion as relentless demand for AI infrastructure propels its shares to fresh highs. Major cloud providers such as Meta—which plans to invest hundreds of billions in U.S. AI data centers—and Tesla continue to bulk up GPU orders, reaffirming Nvidia's central role in the compute arms race.

Wall Street remains bullish, forecasting fiscal 2026 revenue of $200.6 billion (up 54% year-over-year) and nearly $300 billion by 2027. With data center sales accounting for over 90% of revenue and its CUDA ecosystem locking in developers, Nvidia appears positioned to sustain its leadership as the AI economy scales.