Donald Trump once considered breaking up Nvidia, then he learned it’s ‘not easy’

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday revealed that he had once contemplated breaking up Nvidia Corp., the global leader in artificial intelligence chips, to introduce more competition in the booming AI sector. 

Speaking at an AI summit in Washington, Trump said he initially believed it would be a straightforward move until his advisers informed him of the complexity involved, as per foreign media reports.

“I said, ‘Look, we’ll break this guy up,’ before I learned the facts here,” foreign media quoted Trump as saying on Wednesday. He added that Nvidia’s massive technological lead in AI chips would make it nearly impossible for rivals to catch up anytime soon.

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Trump learns breaking up Nvidia is ‘not easy’

The US president further explained that his aides cautioned him against such a move due to the company’s substantial market dominance. “I figured we could go in and we could sort of break them up a little bit, get them a little competition, and I found out it’s not easy in that business,” Trump said.

During the summit, Trump also had high praise for Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who was in attendance. Earlier this month, Huang had met Trump at the White House. Following that meeting, the US allowed Nvidia to resume the sale of its H20 AI chips to China, easing a previous export ban imposed by the Trump administration.

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‘What a job you’ve done,’ Trump tells Nvidia CEO

“What a job you’ve done,” Trump said, directing his comment to Huang. Throughout his speech, the president lauded Huang and other tech leaders for their continued investments in the United States.

Earlier in the day, Huang took the stage to applaud Trump’s AI strategy. “America’s unique advantage that no other country can possibly have is president Trump,” Huang said, drawing applause from the audience.

Nvidia hits $4 trillion valuation amid DOJ scrutiny

Nvidia recently crossed a historic $4 trillion market capitalisation, becoming the most valuable company in the world surpassing the GDP of many nations. The firm’s explosive growth has been fueled by soaring global demand for AI computing hardware needed for running large language models and other advanced systems.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Justice in 2024 opened an investigation into the company to explore potential anticompetitive practices, highlighting the ongoing scrutiny Nvidia faces despite its industry acclaim.

At the same event, Trump launched his “AI Action Plan,” backed by a series of executive orders. The plan is intended to support US leadership in artificial intelligence by reducing regulatory hurdles for companies in the sector.