The second most valuable company in the world is taking aim at President Joe Biden, while at the same time praising President-elect Donald Trump. Nvidia’s criticism is in response to Biden’s last minute export controls on AI chips.
Nvidia’s Vice President of Government Affairs Ned Finkle called the new rules “misguided” and “sweeping overreach” in a blog post on Monday, Jan. 13.
“In its last days in office the Biden administration seeks to undermine America’s leadership with a 200+ page regulatory morass, drafted in secret and without proper legislative review,” Finkle wrote.
Biden’s policy changes would steer sales to allies, while curbing access to countries where there are national security concerns, like China. That’s another blow to Nvidia, which often sells its products to Chinese companies.
Nvidia’s China revenue has already taken a hit over past restrictions. It dropped from around a quarter of total revenue to 10%-15% in recent years.
Finkle’s blog post goes on to applaud Trump. He said his first administration showed “America wins through innovation, not by retreating behind a wall of government overreach.”
“We look forward to a return to policies that strengthen American leadership, bolster our economy and preserve our competitive edge in AI and beyond,” Finkle said.
The stance is a departure from Nvidia’s approach during the presidential campaign. The company and its CEO Jensen Huang stayed quiet on politics and did not make an endorsement.
This latest policy rule from Biden includes a 120-day comment period, leaving Trump’s incoming administration in charge of seeing it through.
In Trump’s first term, his team did restrict Chinese companies from getting their hands on the best U.S. semiconductor tech.
