Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang arrived in Taipei on Friday for a brief visit to chipmaking partner TSMC, as the company continues to navigate tensions between Washington and Beijing over access to its advanced AI processors.
The trip came just days before Nvidia’s (NASDAQ: NVDA) earnings release, and follows reports that the company asked suppliers to halt work on its H20 chip after Chinese regulators flagged potential security concerns. Nvidia is also developing a new AI chip designed specifically for the China market.
“My main purpose here is to visit TSMC,” Huang told reporters after landing at Taipei’s Songshan Airport on a private jet. He noted he would stay only a few hours, with dinner scheduled alongside TSMC leaders. TSMC confirmed that Huang would deliver an internal speech focused on his “management philosophy.”
Huang thanked TSMC for supporting Nvidia in taping out six new chips, including a next-generation GPU and a silicon photonics processor built on the Rubin architecture for upcoming supercomputers. He emphasized that every chip in this architecture is “new and revolutionary.”
The visit coincides with ongoing negotiations between Nvidia and the U.S. government over the sale of advanced chips in China. President Donald Trump recently signaled openness to allowing Nvidia to sell more powerful models, with an agreement in place that allocates 15% of revenue from certain chip sales in China to the U.S. government.
Reports this week revealed that Nvidia is developing a more advanced chip, tentatively called the B30A, based on its latest Blackwell architecture. Huang confirmed talks with U.S. officials about a potential H20 successor but stressed that the final decision lies with Washington.
Nvidia only resumed sales of the H20 in July after earlier export restrictions, but soon after, Chinese authorities raised new concerns about the chip’s security. Despite Nvidia’s assurances that its products pose no backdoor risks, regulators cautioned local firms about purchases.
According to Reuters, Nvidia has instructed suppliers including Foxconn, Amkor Technology, and Samsung Electronics to pause work on the H20 while it manages existing inventory and waits for Chinese purchase orders. Nvidia said its supply chain strategy is continuously adjusted to market conditions, reiterating that the H20 is not a military product.
Huang added that Nvidia appreciated the ability to continue shipping the H20 to China, underscoring that the chip should not be seen as a national security issue.
