Nvidia, AMD stocks hit on report of China AI chip restrictions

AI chip stocks Nvidia (NASDAQ:) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:) are down 4% and 3%, respectively, early Wednesday following a report from the Wall Street Journal overnight that the Biden administration is contemplating imposing fresh limitations on the export of artificial intelligence chips to China. This move stems from growing apprehensions surrounding the potential dominance of this technology by U.S. adversaries.

A move could be made by the Commerce Department to stop the shipments of AI chips made by Nvidia and other chip makers to customers in China as early as July, the report added. The ban would include the sale of Nvidia’s A800 chips without a license.

Citi analysts noted that although Nvidia discussed a $400 million impact from previous US restrictions and has not provided updated information regarding its China data center exposure this year, it is believed that the demand for AI in China has likely grown due to increased adoption of advanced AI technologies. Based on the firm’s estimates, China data center sales are projected to constitute around 5-10% of the total $30 billion data center sales this year.

Nvidia CFO and SVP will be hosting a webcast at 12:00 ET (16:00 GMT) today to discuss the topic of “Networks for AI“, and it is possible the matter could be addressed by the company at that point.

Despite the latest news, the analysts believe AI demand will exceed supply this year and Nvidia can move its chips around. They maintain a Buy rating on the stock.