Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang arrived in Taipei to meet with chip foundry partner TSMC, a brief visit that coincides with the company’s ongoing efforts to navigate U.S.-China tensions around access to its AI chips and an upcoming earnings release. According to Reuters via Yahoo Finance, Huang said his primary purpose was to visit TSMC and deliver an internal talk, before departing after dinner with the company’s leaders.
TSMC visit centers on new chips and next-gen architecture
Huang said he came to thank TSMC, where Nvidia has taped out six brand-new chips, including a new GPU and a silicon photonics processor for next-generation Rubin-architecture supercomputers. He described Rubin as the first architecture in Nvidia’s history where every chip is new and “revolutionary,” adding that all chips have been taped out, a milestone that marks finalized designs ready for production.
TSMC confirmed Huang would give an internal speech focused on his “management philosophy.” Local media broadcast his airport remarks from Taipei’s Songshan airport, where he arrived by private jet for a visit lasting only a few hours.
China-focused H20 under scrutiny as U.S. talks advance
Suppliers pause H20-related work amid Chinese cautions
The visit comes as Nvidia manages shifting conditions for its China-market H20 chip. Reuters reported that Nvidia has asked some suppliers to stop work related to the H20 after Chinese authorities cautioned domestic tech firms about purchasing the chip, citing potential information security risks. Trade publication The Information reported Nvidia instructed Amkor Technology to stop H20 production and notified Samsung Electronics; Amkor handles advanced packaging and Samsung supplies high-bandwidth memory for the model. Foxconn was also asked to pause certain H20-related work, Reuters reported. The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Nvidia said it is managing its supply chain to address market conditions, noting the H20 is not a military product or for government infrastructure. Huang told reporters the company has a significant number of H20 chips prepared and is awaiting purchase orders from China customers, adding that shipping the H20 to China was not a national security concern.
H20 sales were permitted to resume in July after an April halt, following export restrictions introduced in 2023. Shortly after approval, Nvidia placed orders for 300,000 H20 chips with TSMC to supplement inventory due to strong demand, Reuters reported, before Beijing’s cautions emerged.
Huang said Nvidia is in dialogue with the U.S. government about offering China a successor to the H20, noting it is “too soon to know.” Reuters reported Nvidia is working on a tentatively named B30A chip based on its Blackwell architecture that would be more powerful than the H20. Huang emphasized the decision ultimately rests with the U.S. government.
