The impact of DeepSeek is still ongoing.
On Friday, January 31, U.S. President Donald Trump met with Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang at the White House. According to a source familiar with the matter, the two discussed in-depth the development of the Chinese AI company DeepSeek, as well as the potential tightening of chip exports.
Although Trump did not reveal the specific details of the meeting, he highly praised Huang, calling him “a gentleman.” Trump stated, “I cannot disclose the specifics of the meeting in advance, but we can say that it was a productive meeting.”
This meeting comes as the U.S. government prepares to further tighten restrictions on AI chip exports this spring, aiming to ensure advanced computing capabilities remain in the U.S. and its allied nations while exploring additional ways to prevent China from acquiring these critical technologies.
A spokesperson for Nvidia expressed gratitude for the meeting with President Trump, stating, “Mr. Huang had an in-depth discussion with the President about the importance of strengthening America’s leadership in technology and AI.” However, the meeting had actually been scheduled before DeepSeek made waves in the tech industry.
Currently, there is increasing concern within the U.S. tech industry over China’s rapid progress in the AI field. Last week, DeepSeek launched a free AI assistant that claimed to use less data and cost only a fraction of the price of similar models in the U.S. In just a few days, DeepSeek quickly climbed to the top of the Apple App Store’s download chart, sparking concerns that America’s AI leadership might be threatened, leading to a sharp drop in U.S. tech stocks, with a market value evaporation of about $1 trillion. Among these, Nvidia, the world’s leading AI chip manufacturer, saw its stock price drop by as much as 17%.
Reports suggest that the Trump administration is considering further tightening restrictions on the sale of Nvidia’s H20 chip to China. Sources say U.S. officials are discussing the issue of restricting the export of the H20 chip to China, but it is still in the early stages.
The H20 chip is used to run AI software and was designed to comply with the Biden administration’s export restrictions to China. Additionally, two U.S. congressmembers have called for even stricter export controls on Nvidia’s AI chips.
In 2022, the Biden administration already restricted the sale of Nvidia’s AI chip H100 to China. Subsequently, Nvidia released the H800 chip, which slightly underperformed the export control threshold and was specifically designed for the Chinese market. However, by 2023, the H800 chip was also banned from export to China, prompting Nvidia to release the H20 chip as a replacement.
It is noteworthy that the U.S. Department of Commerce is investigating whether DeepSeek is using banned U.S. chips. The U.S. is trying to determine whether DeepSeek is utilizing intermediaries from Southeast Asian countries, including Singapore, to re-export chips banned from being sold to China. Nvidia’s spokesperson stated in a statement, “We require our partners to comply with all applicable laws, and we will take appropriate actions if we receive any contrary information.” Nvidia expressed confidence that DeepSeek had not violated U.S. restrictions.
On February 1, Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry issued a statement saying, “There are questions about whether DeepSeek has obtained Nvidia chips, which are subject to U.S. export controls, through intermediaries in Singapore.”
The Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry stated, “Singapore is an international business hub. Major companies from the U.S. and Europe have a significant presence here. Many of these companies use their business entities in Singapore to purchase chips for products destined for the U.S. and other Western countries.” The Ministry also pointed out that according to Nvidia’s most recent quarterly report, about 22% of the company’s revenue comes from Singapore. Nvidia also stated in regulatory filings, “Most of the shipments related to revenue from Singapore are sent to regions outside of Singapore, with shipments to Singapore being minimal.”
The Singapore government said, “We expect U.S. companies like Nvidia to comply with U.S. export controls and our domestic laws. We always adhere to the rule of law and take decisive and firm action against individuals and companies that violate the rules.”
Reports also indicate that on January 31, Trump stated that the U.S. would begin imposing tariffs on imported products such as computer chips, pharmaceuticals, steel, aluminum, copper, oil, and natural gas as early as mid-February. This is seen as a signal of Trump opening a new front in the trade war during his second term. Trump did not reveal which countries the new tariffs would target, nor the specific tax rates or timing of the imposition.
Trump mentioned that the U.S. government is expected to impose tariffs on oil and natural gas by February 18, and that all of these tariffs will be added on top of existing tariffs. Regarding concerns that the tariffs might exacerbate inflation or disrupt global supply chains, Trump stated, “Tariffs will make us very rich and strong.” He also pointed out that he is not concerned about the reaction from voters or the markets.
Source: Internet
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- The Secrets Behind DeepSeek R1 Training Revealed
- How DeepSeek Enhances Electronics Engineering Processes?
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