Approved by Capital Citizen Economy 2025.01.15 15:59 | Last modified 2025.01.15 21:28 Comments 0
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On the 13th (local time), when US President Biden announced AI semiconductor export regulations, Nvidia, the exclusive supplier in the global AI chip market, faced a crisis, but the industry is of the view that this is only the beginning of the ordeal for Nvidia. The recklessness of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is likely the reason.
Recently, there has been criticism that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who has been seen as being concerned about other people's households, "should be good at taking care of his own household." This is interpreted as a result of the recent backlash caused by Jensen Huang's inappropriate remarks at CES (the IT and home appliance show held in Las Vegas, USA).
With one week left in office, US President Biden announced new export control regulations related to semiconductors used in AI (artificial intelligence) systems. The regulations mainly apply to Nvidia, raising concerns that Nvidia's fate may change in the future.
According to CNN, the US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) will divide countries that can export AI semiconductor technology into three categories and regulate exports by category.
Category 1 includes 18 friendly and allied countries, including Korea, Japan, the UK, and Australia, and will be free from regulations. The 3rd level, which is classified as a competitor, includes about 20 countries such as China, Russia, and North Korea. For these countries, sales of AI semiconductors and closed AI models are restricted.
In addition, for 120 countries classified as 2nd level, which are neither friendly nor competitor countries, such as Singapore and Israel, export volumes will be conditionally restricted.
This is a blow to Nvidia, whose sales to China account for 20% of its sales. In addition, more than 55% of Nvidia's sales are to countries other than the United States, and more than half of them are to 2nd level countries. Ultimately, 30-40% of overseas exports will be subject to regulation.
In addition, this regulation includes a condition that cloud service companies such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon must obtain separate approval from the United States when building overseas data centers. Since Nvidia is the exclusive supplier of AI semiconductor chips to these cloud service companies, the impact is bound to be even more severe.
In this situation, Nvidia's Jensen Huang is being criticized for not presenting solutions to the problems of Nvidia's products at the world's largest IT and home appliance show that recently ended, and for actually throwing a wrench into the quantum computer industry, which is a family matter.
Nvidia's current issue is the timing of mass supply of high-end AI semiconductor chips such as Blackwell and Rubin, but as they only talk about mid- to long-term robots, Nvidia's credibility is falling, and its stock price is unable to avoid a daily decline.
On the other hand, regarding the business viability of quantum computers, he made an irresponsible statement that "it will take about 20 years for it to become visible," and all quantum computer stock prices were dyed blue. In the days following Hwang's statement, all quantum computer stock prices plummeted by 40% to 60%.
At this year's CES, quantum computing technology was selected as a separate theme, and the UN designated 2025 as the 'Year of Quantum Computers', so quantum computing technology is already a technology that people can feel, but he is being criticized by the world for making irresponsible remarks even though he is not an expert in this field.
Some are pointing out that he intentionally disparaged quantum computing technology, a technology that could be done without Nvidia's AI chips, while his own business, AI chips, is facing a crisis.
Some are also pointing out that Jensen Huang's business foundation has reached its limit. In addition to the rapid expansion of technology bases of rivals such as AMD and Broadcom, as the Trump 2.0 era approaches, there is an outlook that the US government will strengthen regulations on Nvidia, which has a monopoly based on technology from Taiwan's TSMC.
From the US perspective, if China dominates Taiwan, TSMC will also be under Chinese control, which will greatly shake the US semiconductor security. Furthermore, CEO Huang is strictly speaking an American citizen, but since he is a native Chinese, Trump may have a view that he is likely to side with China rather than the US when it comes to making a decision.
Jensen Huang was born in Taiwan and moved to the US when he was 9, but his father is a Chinese native born in Zhejiang Province in northeastern China.
For that reason, Jensen Huang went to China during the Lunar New Year last year to participate in the Spring Festival, and it is known that he plans to go to China to participate in the festival ahead of the Lunar New Year starting at the end of January.
He is expected to attend the Chinese Lunar New Year, wearing traditional Chinese clothing and dancing, just like last year, instead of attending Trump's inauguration on January 20.
I do not agree with the racist behavior of the United States, which ostracizes people who have been American citizens for over 50 years because they are of Asian descent, but I want to say that the CEO of the world's best company should be serious in his actions and words, and should not say or do anything irresponsible.
In fact, it is clearly imprudent to say that he is not providing solutions to Nvidia's current issues, but is giving a half-baked lecture on quantum computers, or that the CEO of a major American company is visiting China, which is engaged in a war for hegemony with the United States, instead of attending the three-day inauguration of the US president.
Technology that pursues only money without thinking is bound to reveal its limitations. Therefore, the foundation of education is ethics, philosophy, and self-cultivation, but Jensen Huang's behavior feels like an AI that does not show any of those things. Simple AI is destined to be discarded in front of a higher version of AI. That is the fate of technology supremacy.
Lee Ki-young, Editor-in-Chief
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