What happened
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang confirmed the company's $200 billion CPU market forecast includes China, signalling continued long-term demand despite ongoing US-China technology tensions. Nvidia is also ramping up production of its Vera Rubin platform, which integrates Vera CPUs and Rubin GPUs for agentic AI workloads. While the H200 AI chip has US export licences for China, no shipments have occurred, awaiting Chinese regulatory approval. Huang also addressed recent chip smuggling incidents involving partners like Super Micro, emphasising compliance.
Why it matters
Access to a $200 billion CPU market, including China, diversifies Nvidia's revenue streams beyond GPUs, particularly as agentic AI drives demand for CPU capabilities. This forecast, however, faces immediate constraints: despite US export licences for H200 chips to China, actual deliveries remain stalled awaiting Chinese regulatory approval. Procurement teams must navigate these complex, shifting regulatory landscapes and supply chain risks, especially given recent chip smuggling incidents involving partners like Super Micro, which underscore compliance challenges for hardware partners.
