Nvidia CEO Visits China Amid New Product Launches

On January 20th, Jensen Huang, CEO of AI chip giant Nvidia, concluded his visit to mainland China, as confirmed by Nvidia China to Chinese media outlet The Paper (Pengpai). The visit, which marked Huang’s first in several years, involved meetings with employees and attendance at the annual gathering at Nvidia’s offices in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.

In related news, Nvidia’s stock has recently soared to a historical high. As of January 19th, shares were valued at $594.91 each, representing a 4.17% increase. Cumulatively, the stock’s value has surged by over 20% since the start of 2024, pushing the company’s total market value to $1.47 trillion.

Earlier this month, Nvidia introduced the GeForce RTX 40 SUPER series. This new consumer-level graphics card lineup, designed for gamers and creators, includes the RTX 4080 Super, RTX 4070 Ti Super, and RTX 4070 Super GPUs. These models represent significant performance upgrades over their predecessors. At the launch event, Nvidia’s Vice President Justin Walker underscored that these graphics cards meet export control requirements and can be supplied to consumers in China.

Despite the lack of detailed disclosure about Huang’s itinerary, there have been rumors suggesting a lukewarm reception for Nvidia’s “downgraded” chips in China. Reports indicate that Nvidia attempted to sell lower-performance AI chips to Chinese buyers in response to the Biden administration’s export restrictions. However, these products reportedly failed to pique the interest of Chinese customers.

In a statement made previously, Huang likened the US export control measures to “tying our hands behind our backs.” He acknowledged the importance of the Chinese market to Nvidia, noting that it contributes to 20% of the company’s revenue.

SEE ALSO: Nvidia Unveils New Gaming Chips and Partnerships with Chinese Gaming Companies at CES 2024