In a move that turned heads in Washington and Silicon Valley, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang slammed a Trump-era export restriction that could wipe out $10.5 billion in projected revenue—only to praise the former president’s “bold vision” just minutes later.
The sharp contrast came during Huang’s address at the World Semiconductor Forum in San Jose, where he warned that proposed limits on AI chip sales to foreign buyers—including China and Saudi Arabia—could do “irreparable harm” to U.S. innovation.
“We’re talking about billions in revenue being cut off overnight,” Huang said. “This isn’t just about Nvidia. This is about America losing its leadership in AI.”
But within minutes, the tech billionaire pivoted sharply, crediting Trump for being “the only leader in recent memory with the courage to make sweeping industrial bets.”
“Whatever you think of his methods,” Huang added, “he pushed the world to take semiconductor strategy seriously.”
$10.5 billion on the line
Nvidia has become the crown jewel of the AI revolution, riding a historic stock surge to become one of the most valuable companies in the world. But the boom has also put the company under geopolitical scrutiny.
According to internal company estimates, the Trump-era restrictions—now being enforced and expanded under the Biden administration—could block access to over $10.5 billion worth of AI accelerator sales, particularly to China and Gulf states building out sovereign AI infrastructure.
For a company where international demand accounts for nearly half of all revenue, the potential hit is massive.
“Nvidia is being forced to pick sides in a global AI arms race,” one analyst told Millionaire MNL. “And no matter how good their chips are, access to foreign markets is what pays for that R&D.”
Playing both sides of the aisle
Huang’s double-edged commentary reflects the tricky political terrain tech CEOs are now navigating.
On one hand, they’re beholden to export rules that are reshaping global supply chains. On the other, many still rely on favorable tax codes, federal subsidies, and trade support—all things that hinge on maintaining warm relations with political power brokers.
“You’re seeing CEOs trying to hedge every sentence,” said a former Commerce Department official. “They’ll criticize policy in one breath, and endorse the man behind it in the next.”
Nvidia’s balancing act is especially high-stakes given its central role in powering generative AI across nearly every industry—from military to medicine.
And with Trump reportedly exploring a return to the White House—and promising to double down on “America First” export controls—tech leaders are scrambling to stay on both sides of the conversation.
