Intel will need license to export AI chips to Chinese clients: Report

The AI chip trade is losing steam after a two-year rally as tariff threats and fears over Big Tech’s spending weigh on sentiment [File]
| Photo Credit: AP

American chipmaker Intel has informed Chinese clients it will start needing a license to sell some of its advanced artificial intelligence processors, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

The news comes a day after Nvidia warned of a $5.5 billion hit as Washington restricted exports of its AI processor tailored for China. Dutch chip-making tools giant ASML also raised doubts about its outlook earlier in the day.

Intel, under new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, told clients last week that its chips would require a license for exporting to China if they have a total DRam bandwidth of 1,400 gigabytes (GB) per second or more, input-output (I/O) bandwidth of 1,100 GB per second or more, or a total of both of 1,700 GB per second or more, according to the report.

Intel’s Gaudi series as well as Nvidia’s H20 far exceed these requirements, the report said.

The chipmaker did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Intel’s shares closed more than 3% lower on Wednesday, under pressure like other chip stocks, on fresh evidence of how U.S. President Donald Trump’s shifting trade policy was complicating the outlook for semiconductor and computing giants.

The AI chip trade is losing steam after a two-year rally as tariff threats and fears over Big Tech’s spending weigh on sentiment.