Nvidia and AMD Fork Over 15% of China Chip Revenue in New China Trade Deal

Uncle Sam’s taking a cut, and America’s chipmakers are lining up to pay. NvidiaNVDA

and Advanced Micro DevicesAMD

have reached a deal with the Trump administration — surrendering 15% of their China AI chip revenues in exchange for coveted export licenses. The “pay-to-play” arrangement lets Nvidia resume sales of its H20 AI accelerator, while AMD can ship its MI308 chips back into the world’s largest semiconductor market.

• Nvidia previously made $4.6B from H20 sales last quarter, with $2.5B frozen by export curbs — suggesting quarterly government payouts could reach ~$1B if sales return to previous levels.
• AMD could potentially produce $3B to $5B in 2025 revenue if restrictions lift completely, despite Chinese alternatives like Huawei’s Ascend chips capturing up to 30% of domestic demand.

Stakes getting higher: For the chip giants, paying Uncle Sam beats losing access to China entirely — even if it means explaining to shareholders why they’re now revenue-sharing with the federal government. Still, Jacob Feldgoise of the Center for Security and Emerging Technology warned, “This seeming quid pro quo is unprecedented from an export control perspective. The arrangement risks invalidating the national security rationale for US export controls.”