Nvidia, AMD to Pay US 15% of China AI Chip Sales in Unprecedented Deal

Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. have agreed to remit 15% of their Chinese AI chip revenues to the US government as part of a novel export licensing arrangement. The deal, which applies to Nvidia's H20 accelerator and AMD's MI308 chip sales in China, represents a rare financial concession by tech firms to secure trade approvals.

The revenue-sharing mechanism echoes the TRUMP administration's pattern of negotiating direct economic benefits for the US in exchange for trade concessions. While previous deals like Apple's $600 billion manufacturing commitment established broad precedents, this targeted export tax on specific chip products breaks new ground in corporate-government relations.

Beijing's growing resistance to US technology deployment compounds the strategic implications. The arrangement may strain already tense semiconductor trade dynamics between the world's two largest economies.