© Reuters. The United States considers tightening export restrictions on artificial intelligence chips
U.S. officials are drafting tighter controls on an export rule created to minimize the availability of artificial intelligence (AI) chips in China. According to sources close to the officials, the tougher regulation would include a squeeze on the level of computing power of exported chips. The sources say an update to the rules could come by the end of July. Such restrictions on the sale of powerful computing chips have alarmed some of the major players in the sector. During an investor conference held on June 28, Colette Kress, chief financial officer of Nvidia – one of the leading chipmakers in the world – commented that:
“…if implemented, [le restrizioni] would result in a permanent loss of opportunity for US industry to compete and excel in one of the largest markets in the world…”.
Kress said the implementation of those regulations will not have “an immediate impact” on the company’s financial results. In late May, the boom in AI chips caused Nvidia to temporarily hit $1 trillion in value. Cointelegraph has reached out to the US Department of Commerce for further comments on its potential decision. Initially, restrictions against sales of AI chips to China were issued by US President Joe Biden’s administration in October 2022 in order to slow down the semiconductor industry.October’s ban has prevented Chinese developers from accessing some of the most advanced chips on the market, including Nvidia’s A100 chips and the latest version, the H100. These two chips are among the most sought-after chips for high-end AI developmentIn May, Nvidia reported that its second-quarter revenue forecasts were 50% higher than market estimates, with the company’s shares rising 28%. During the same period, the company released additional tools of AI, including an AI supercomputer created to help developers produce successors to ChatGPT. Meanwhile, in China, local developers seem to have found ways to circumvent the impact of US sanctions. Companies would be studying new ways of developing artificial intelligence chipsusing the cheapest semiconductors and chip combinations currently available.
Translation by Walter Rizzo
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