The AI chip race narrative used to be about U.S. national security, but apparently now it's about tariffs: Nvidia and AMD have agreed to pay the U.S. government 15% of the revenue they make from sales of high-end AI chips to China in exchange for licenses to sell to those chips in the country, the Financial Times reported, citing anonymous sources.
8:30am: Calm futures US stock futures were calm Monday morning as investors set their sights on another possible round of record highs. The Dow futures rose about 0.3%, S&P 500 futures added 0.1%, and Nasdaq futures hovered near the flatline.
Nvidia and AMD have agreed to pay 15% of revenues from chip sales to China to the U.S. goverenment, the FT reports. Analysts said the deal is still positive for both AMD and Nvidia as they get access to a huge market.
AI chip exports to China are resuming, setting AMD up for a strong margin recovery and improved profitability in the coming quarters. The ramp-up of MI355X accelerators and robust 3Q25 sales guidance position AMD for renewed growth, especially in the data center segment. AMD trades at a lower valuation than peers like Nvidia and Broadcom, offering significant re-rating potential with an intrinsic value estimate of $210.
$2.25 billion. That is how much money the U.S. government could earn from Nvidia as part of the deal.
The unusual arrangement will apply to Nvidia's H20 chip and AMD's MI308.
Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, ETR:NVD) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD, ETR:AMD) have struck an unprecedented agreement to pay the US government 15% of their revenues from chip sales in China to secure export licences. This follows US restrictions on advanced chips, particularly those used in artificial intelligence, amid national security concerns.
Revenue-sharing deal between Nvidia, AMD and U.S. government covers AI chip sales to China, a key market worth billions for both companies.
The unusual arrangement follows Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's meeting with President Trump.
Nvidia and AMD have agreed to give the US government 15% of their revenues from chip sales in China, under an arrangement to obtain export licenses for the semiconductors, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
In a highly unusual arrangement with President Trump, the companies are expected to kick 15 percent of what they make in China to the U.S. government.
In exchange for 15% of revenues from the chip sales, the two chipmakers will receive export licenses to sell Nvidia's H20 and AMD's MI308 chips in China, according to the Financial Times. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang met with Trump last week, the FT reported.