Nvidia shares surged Tuesday after the company said it received U.S. government assurances that it can resume sales of its H20 AI chips to China, easing fears of a major hit to its business in one of its biggest markets.
“NVIDIA is filing applications to sell the NVIDIA H20 GPU again,” the company said in a blog post late Monday. “The U.S. government has assured NVIDIA that licenses will be granted, and NVIDIA hopes to start deliveries soon.”
The announcement follows a recent meeting between Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and former President Donald Trump.
Investors cheered the news. Nvidia stock rose 4.4% to $171.30 early in the session, bringing its gain for the year to 28%. Semiconductor stocks broadly climbed on the announcement: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) jumped 6.8% to $156.15, Marvell Technology rose 1.8% to $73.83, and Broadcom added 2.1% to $281.30. Nvidia partners, such as Super Micro Computer (SMCI), also saw their shares rise.
The move marks a significant win for Nvidia, which had faced stiff U.S. export restrictions on AI chip sales to China. In May, the company disclosed a $4.5 billion charge tied to export curbs imposed by the Trump administration, which threatened to reduce its H2O sales in China to nearly zero.
The H20 chips are less advanced than Nvidia’s latest AI offerings and have been designed to comply with earlier export controls.
Separately, Nvidia introduced a new RTX PRO AI chip that it says is “fully compliant” with U.S. regulations for the Chinese market.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The news caps a big month for Nvidia, which last week became the world’s first company to surpass a $4 trillion market valuation. The fresh approval adds to a string of recent wins even as its most advanced AI chips remain barred from sale to Chinese customers.