11 Mar 2026
The global AI boom has made Nvidia’s chips the most important hardware for training advanced artificial intelligence models. For years, Chinese technology companies relied heavily on these GPUs, giving Nvidia about 95% of the advanced AI chip market in China and making the country a major source of revenue. That changed in 2022, when the United States imposed strict export controls to prevent China from accessing the most powerful AI processors, citing national-security concerns. The rules effectively blocked Nvidia from selling its top chips such as the A100 and H100 to Chinese firms. Although Nvidia tried to design weaker, compliant versions of its chips for the Chinese market, tightening regulations and political tensions made sales increasingly difficult. Over time, Nvidia’s presence collapsed, with the company’s share of China’s advanced AI chip market falling from roughly 95% to nearly zero, highlighting how semiconductor technology has become a central battleground in the U.S.–China tech rivalry.
