Former President Donald Trump has revealed that he once considered breaking up Nvidia, the world’s most valuable tech company, before changing his mind after meeting its CEO, Jensen Huang. Speaking at an event in Washington, DC, to promote his AI Action Plan, Trump said he initially knew little about Nvidia but viewed its dominance in AI chips as concerning. After advisers told him the company had nearly complete market control, Trump floated the idea of splitting it up to create more competition.
However, advisers explained that even if the best minds worked together, it would take at least a decade to catch up with Nvidia’s technology, even under poor management. Trump said that realization, coupled with his later personal interactions with Huang, changed his perspective. “And then I got to know Jensen, and now I see why,” Trump said, praising the Nvidia leader.
Huang successfully persuaded the Trump administration to allow Nvidia to sell its H20 chips to China, an important reversal after U.S. restrictions previously blocked the sales over fears of aiding a rival’s AI development. To address those concerns, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick emphasized that the chips approved for export are only the “fourth-best” versions, designed to integrate Chinese developers into the U.S. technology ecosystem without compromising security.
The policy shift has proven lucrative for Nvidia, which recently became the first publicly traded company valued at $4 trillion. While the Biden administration had reportedly examined Nvidia for potential antitrust violations, Trump’s change of stance likely rules out immediate breakup efforts.
The development underscores Nvidia’s central role in the AI industry and highlights how political perspectives on technology can shift based on strategic and economic considerations. Jensen Huang’s influence not only protected Nvidia from a potential breakup but also opened new opportunities for growth in a key international market.
