Nvidia Sets New Record as Market Capitalization Surpasses $5.6 Trillion Following US Approval for H200 Chip Exports to China

Nvidia Shares Surge to Record High Amid US Approval for AI Chip Sales to Chinese Firms

On Thursday, 14 May, shares of Nvidia continued their bull run, advancing another 5% to reach a fresh record high of $236.47. The surge comes after Reuters reported that the US has cleared about 10 Chinese firms to buy Nvidia's second-most powerful AI chip, the H200.

According to the report, the approved buyers include Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, and JD.com, while Lenovo and Foxconn were cleared to distribute the chips. Sources stated that each approved customer could purchase up to 75,000 H200 chips under US licensing rules. The US requirements reportedly made it clear that the chips could not be used for military purposes.

In addition, the US government is seeking 25% of the revenue generated from the exports, and in order to legally collect the export fee, the arrangement requires the hardware to physically pass through US territory for testing before shipment to China. Despite the approvals, the report said that no sales have been completed so far.

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Chinese firms have reportedly slowed purchases following guidance from Beijing, which is pushing domestic companies to reduce reliance on foreign semiconductor technology. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated that the Chinese central government has not let them buy the chips, as they are trying to keep their investment focused on their own domestic industry.

Before tighter US export curbs were introduced, Nvidia commanded nearly 95% of China's advanced chip market. China once accounted for 13% of Nvidia's revenue, and CEO Jensen Huang had previously estimated that the country's AI market alone would be worth $50 billion this year.

Huang, who was not initially listed as part of the White House delegation to Beijing, joined the trip after receiving an invitation from President Donald Trump. Trump picked him up in Alaska en route to a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, raising hopes that the visit could finally unlock stalled efforts to sell H200 chips in China.

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Joining Trump on the visit were several CEOs looking to resolve issues with China, including Elon Musk. In its last earnings report in February, Nvidia confirmed that while the US government had licensed shipments of "small amounts of H200 products to specific China-based customers," the company had "not generated any revenue under the H200 licensing program" and did "not yet know whether any imports will be allowed into China."

Trump first gave Nvidia the nod to sell the high-end H200 chips to China back in December, with the condition that the sales would occur "under conditions that allow for continued strong national security," Barron's had reported. Nvidia, the world's most valuable company, has gained 26% so far this year, and its market capitalization has surpassed $5.65 trillion. The shares are likely to remain in focus next week as the company is set to report its fiscal first-quarter FY2027 earnings results on May 20, 2026.