NVIDIA CEO Warns U.S. Is ‘Nanoseconds Away’ From Losing The AI Race to China
NVIDIA co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang has a message for U.S. lawmakers: If changes in policy are not enacted in short order, including a ban on exports of NVIDIA's most advanced silicon to China, the United States will lose its lead in the AI race. It's not a matter of if, but when, and Huang says China is mere nanoseconds behind America in AI.
Huang has made similar statements in the past as NVIDIA wrestles with export controls of chips to China, a lucrative market. However, his latest comments are the strongest yet in opposition of various hurdles, including heightened rules and regulations at both federal and state levels.
In no uncertain terms, Huang told the Financial Times, "China is going to win the AI race." He also said the U.S. is being hampered by "cynicism" and made a call for "more optimism. And in case anyone may think FT could be taking his comments out of context, NVIDIA posted a similar warning on X.
A statement from NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang. pic.twitter.com/Exwx54OYJV
— NVIDIA Newsroom (@nvidianewsroom) November 5, 2025
"As I have long said, China is nanoseconds behind America in AI. It's vital that Amercia wins by racing ahead and winning developers worldwide," Huang said.
So what exactly has him riled up? Part of it stems for U.S. President Donald Trump's recent meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The Trump administration is holding firm on an export ban of NVIDIA's top chips to Beijing. The situation is a bit murky, though, with recent deals reached with the U.S. government.
Specifically, both AMD and NVIDIA agreed to pay the U.S. government 15% of all revenues from Instinct MI308 accelerators (AMD) and Hopper H20 silicon (NVIDIA) to the Chinese market. However, export bans remain on the latest-generation and most advanced hardware based on Blackwell.
China responded by halting purchases of NVIDIA's chips, ostensibly as part of a national security review, according to CNBC. Regardless of the real reason, NVIDIA's presence in China is effectively reduced to nothing, save for chips exported before the ban and/or black market hardware that is illegally smuggled into the country.
"Export restrictions spurred China’s innovation. The U.S. has based its policy on the assumption that China cannot make AI chips. Assumption was always questionable. Now it’s clearly wrong," Huang said earlier this year, calling the policy on AI chip restrictions to China a "failure."
Export rules are not Huang's only beef, though. He also points to state-level rules on AI that could lead to "50 new regulations," whereas energy subsidies in China effectively lower the cost for domestic tech firms to run Chinese chips instead of American made silicon.
NVIDIA is doing just fine without a presence in China, as it recently became the first publicly traded company to reach and surpass a $5 trillion market cap. But as echoed on X and in new statements to FT, Huang's concern extends beyond the company's bottom line an into the global AI race.
