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Photo illustration of Nvidia’s H20 chip.

Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty Images

Nvidia‘s H20 chips are likely to return to China, but tech experts don’t expect them to be met with the same fanfare in the market in light of new competition and regulatory scrutiny. 

The Trump administration last month gave Nvidia assurances that it would be permitted to resume sales of its H20 chips to China, after their exports had been effectively banned in April. It also announced a new “fully compliant” made-for-China chip.

The move was seen as a huge win for the company, which had flagged billions in losses due to the policy. But while the H20s might be returning to the Chinese market that doesn’t mean Nvidia will regain its former market share, analysts caution. 

In a recent report, global equity research and brokerage firm Bernstein forecast that Nvidia’s AI chip market share in China would drop to 54% in 2025, from 66% the year prior. 

This drop is only partly owed to complications with resuming chip supply, as Chinese AI chipmakers have been seizing more of the booming domestic market. 

“U.S. export controls have created a unique opportunity for domestic AI processor vendors, as they are not competing with the most advanced global alternatives,” Bernstein’s report said, noting growing prominence of Chinese players such as Huawei, Cambricon and Hygon. “The localization ratio of China’s AI chip market will surge from 17% in 2023 to 55% by 2027.”

China's desire for chip self-reliance is clear, but tech firms still don't want to rely on Huawei

Other analysts such as The Futurum Group CEO Daniel Newman were more bullish about Nvidia’s bounce back in China. However, he also flagged potential market share erosion from Nvidia customers that might have found success with Chinese rivals while the H20 controls were in place. 

It’s also worth noting that Bernstein’s predictions assume that broader U.S. chip restrictions will remain largely unchanged. That creates a dynamic where Chinese companies continue to develop and offer advanced chips, possibly eroding demand for outdated U.S. offerings.

Further easing?  

Ahead of rolling back the H20 restrictions, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had been lobbying for more access to China, claiming export controls were inhibiting U.S. tech leadership.  

While Trump administration officials had said the rollback was part of trade negotiations, analysts have echoed Nvidia’s basic argument that chip controls for the China market should be eased, thereby creating more dependency on U.S. tech offerings.

“The assumption is that by keeping U.S. technology companies in the China game, the U.S. can preserve and even grow its geopolitical leverage,” Reva Goujon, director at Rhodium Group, told CNBC. 

In a report last month, Rhodium Group said that this logic may see the administration shift to a “sliding scale” approach to export restrictions that could allow U.S. chipmakers greater access to China as Huawei and other Chinese chipmakers continue to upgrade.

However, while Chinese AI developers will be happy to have increased access to Nvidia chips, Beijing isn’t expected to slow its efforts to steer companies toward homegrown AI infrastructure, according to Goujon. 

She noted that the Cyberspace Administration of China’s recent summons to Nvidia was an obvious signal of the state’s intention to intervene in the local AI infrastructure market.

New Beijing scrutiny

According to the Cyberspace Administration of China, Nvidia met with Beijing officials on Thursday regarding national security concerns posed by the H20 chips, including potential backdoors that would allow parties in the U.S. to access or control them. 

Beijing’s move appeared to come in response, at least partially, to new laws proposed in the U.S. that would require semiconductor companies such as Nvidia to include security mechanisms and location verification in their advanced AI chips. Nvidia later denied that its chips have any “backdoors” that would allow external access or control. 

The move by Beijing was also likely an attempt to create some hesitation among Chinese AI developers looking to buy the new H20s, according to Futurum’s Newman.

“China wants to leave some levers in place to potentially restrict outside AI chips at some point down the line if and when it feels its homegrown technology is truly competitive,” Newman said. 

Beijing has previously restricted American chipmakers’ business in China amid periods of intense technology and trade tensions between the two countries. Micron Technology, for instance, failed a cybersecurity review in 2023 and was subsequently blocked from critical IT infrastructure.

“The continued complexity of China-U.S. trade relations could bring further complications [for Nvidia] as negotiations continue and as China attempts to cement its own AI strategy,” Newman added. 

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Apple announces launch event on Sept. 9, iPhone 17 expected

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Apple announces launch event on Sept. 9, iPhone 17 expected

Apple announces an iPhone event on Sept. 9.

Courtesy: Apple

Apple on Tuesday sent invites to the media and analysts for a launch event at its campus on September 9 at 10 A.M pacific time.

The tagline on the invite is: “Awe dropping.”

Apple is expected to release new iPhones, as it usually does in September. This year’s model would be the iPhone 17. It also often announces new Apple Watch models in September.

While Apple’s launch events used to be held live, with executives demonstrating features on stage, since 2020 they have been pre-recorded videos. Apple said it would stream the event on its website.

Analysts expect Apple to release a lineup of new phones with updated processors and specs, including a new slim version that trades battery life and cameras for a light weight and design.

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Meta used National PTA to promote child safety efforts, report finds

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Meta used National PTA to promote child safety efforts, report finds

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg tries on Orion AR glasses at the Meta Connect annual event at the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Sept. 25, 2024.

Manuel Orbegozo | Reuters

Since losing her 15-year-old son Riley to suicide following a sextortion scheme through Meta’s Messenger app, Mary Rodee has worked with advocacy groups to push for stronger protections for children online. 

“I hold them solely responsible,” Rodee said about Meta in an interview with CNBC. “They have a responsibility for the safety of their users.”

Rodee is among a number of parents who are increasingly critical of organizations that are supposed to help children stay safe but accept money from Meta and other social media companies. Among these groups is the National Parent Teacher Association. 

The National PTA is a nonprofit with more than 20,000 chapters and nearly 4 million members across the country that works with schools and families to advocate for children. The group’s website says its members “share a commitment to improving the education, health and safety of all children.”

A report published Tuesday by tech watchdog organization Tech Transparency Project alleges the group’s relationship with Meta “gives a sheen of expert approval” to the social media company’s “efforts to keep young users engaged on its platforms.” The report claims that Meta’s tactics are used to counter concerns that services like Instagram can be harmful to teens in an attempt to shape the public narrative. 

As Meta has come under growing pressure over its impact on kids and their well-being, the company has responded with a range of tactics to influence the public debate,” TTP wrote.

Meta has sponsored the National PTA for years, while the education advocacy group has promoted the company’s child safety initiatives without always noting its financial ties, TTP found.

The National PTA and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, have worked together since at least 2010. Meta’s presence is listed in the group’s events and social media posts.

“It’s unforgivable,” said Rodee of Canton, New York. “I just can’t get over these groups that convince themselves that there’s not blood on their hands, that this money is clean.”

Both Meta and the National PTA declined to share how much the social media company has contributed to the group.

“We’re proud to partner with expert organizations to educate parents about our safety tools and protections for teens, as many other tech companies do,” a Meta spokesperson told CNBC in a statement.

In a statement to CNBC, the National PTA said that it doesn’t endorse any social media platform and it accepts sponsorship from Meta to have a “seat at the table” and to be a “strong, clear voice for parents and children.”

“Our collaboration with Meta provides an opportunity to help inform families about safety on its apps and the available tools (e.g., parental controls, age-gated features) and resources (e.g., parent’s guides, online safety centers),” the National PTA said in its statement.

Mary Rodee lost her 15-year-old son Riley to suicide following a sextortion scheme through Meta’s Messenger app.

Mary Rodee

Meta worked with the National PTA in 2017 to help roll out Messenger Kids, a chat app for children under 13 that the company said was developed in consultation with parent and safety groups, TTP wrote in its report. Facebook became a founding sponsor of the PTA Connected initiative the following year in 2018, the National PTA said in its statement to CNBC.

The National PTA can often be seen supporting Meta products on its Instagram account. For example, a post shared in June shows a group of PTA members at a digital safety workshop in front of a poster with Meta and the National PTA’s logo.

Riley, Rodee’s son, was a victim of sextortion on Meta’s platforms. Sextortion is the act of threatening to expose sexually compromising information unless certain demands are met. He was blackmailed by a person posing as a teenage girl on Facebook Messenger, Rodee said.

The fake account demanded Riley pay $3,500. He then took his own life, Rodee said. Sextortion schemes like this are on the rise across social media. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security received more than 3,000 sextortion tips in 2022, according to the Justice Department.

The Federal Trade Commission accused Meta in 2023 of misleading parents about their ability to control who their children communicate with on the Messenger Kids app. Meta has denied wrongdoing and is challenging both the FTC’s proposed restrictions and the constitutionality of the agency’s process.

A federal master complaint filed in March 2024 in California by school districts and local governments as part of a multi-district lawsuit against major social media companies alleges that platforms like Instagram and Facebook were intentionally designed to be addictive to young users. The complaint names the National PTA as one of the organizations Meta uses to reach children in schools.

“While Instagram may try to characterize this work as helpful to addressing youth mental health problems, they were more candid in other documents about using this as a strategy to get more teen users,” the filing states. “The goal of the parents plan was to get ‘parents to think, my kids are on social media, and my FAVORITE app for them to be on is Instagram, bar none.'”

In September 2024, Meta announced Instagram Teen Accounts, which gives users between 13 and 17 certain safeguards on the app. The release announcing the accounts included a quote from National PTA President Yvonne Johnson, without disclosing that Meta was a national sponsor of the organization.

“Given that parents today are grappling with the benefits and challenges of the internet and digital media for their teens, our association applauds Meta for launching Instagram Teen Accounts,” Johnson said in the release.

Instagram’s Teen Accounts feature has received mixed responses when it comes to how effectively it protects kids. Some users still saw inappropriate content on Instagram, according to a report from ParentsTogether.

“This strategy of telling parents that these products are safer than they really are puts kids in danger,” said Shelby Knox, online safety campaign director at ParentsTogether.

The Meta spokesperson said that Teen Accounts give protections to limit who can contact teens on Instagram.

Other parent groups like Smartphone Free Childhood U.S. and Parents for Safe Online Spaces have reached out to the National PTA to voice their concern of accepting money from social media companies that they say are dangerous to their children.

The National PTA’s other sponsors also include Google, YouTube, TikTok and Discord.

In 2024, TikTok gave the National PTA more than $300,000 for programs about teens and social media, even as the platform itself faced mounting criticism over its impact on teens.

The PTA is just one example of Meta’s strategy, according to the TTP report. Meta also created Trust, Transparency & Control Labs, also known as TTC Labs, in 2017. The organization works to collaborate on safety efforts.

While TTC Labs is clearly labeled as a Meta creation, TTC has produced reports on Instagram Teen Accounts and Horizon Worlds. Meta has cited these reports as evidence of its commitment to child safety.

Meta and other social media platforms have been blamed for causing harm to children. 

A bipartisan group of 42 attorneys general sued Meta in 2023, alleging features on Facebook and Instagram are addictive and are aimed at kids and teens.

In July, Meta said it eliminated 600,000 profiles linked to predatory behavior and enhanced direct messaging protections on Instagram.

“PTAs in schools are trusted organizations, so their support of companies that are using people and children for profit is just unforgivable,” Rodee said.

If you are having suicidal thoughts or are in distress, contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for support and assistance from a trained counselor.

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EchoStar stock skyrockets 75% on AT&T deal to buy wireless spectrum for $23 billion

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EchoStar stock skyrockets 75% on AT&T deal to buy wireless spectrum for  billion

AT&T CEO John Stankey: EchoStar spectrum deal will accelerate growth & dramatically improve service

EchoStar stock roared more than 75% higher on Tuesday after AT&T said it agreed to purchase certain wireless spectrum licenses from the telecom company for about $23 billion in an all-cash deal.

The sale will add about 50 megahertz of mid-band and low-band spectrum to AT&T’s network, with the licenses covering more than 400 markets across the U.S., AT&T said. The deal is expected to close in mid-2026, pending regulatory approval.

EchoStar said in a regulatory filing that the transaction is part of the company’s “ongoing efforts to resolve the Federal Communications Commission’s inquiries.”

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FCC Chairman Brendan Carr wrote in a May letter addressed to EchoStar cofounder and Chairman Charlie Ergen that the agency’s staff would investigate the company’s compliance with federal requirements to build a 5G network.

The letter followed complaints from Elon Musk‘s SpaceX that EchoStar had left “valuable mid-band spectrum chronically underused,” and the FCC should take steps to let “new satellite entrants” put it to use.

SpaceX owns Starlink, which provides internet service through a constellation of low Earth orbit satellites.

As part of Tuesday’s announcement, AT&T and EchoStar also agreed to expand their network services agreement, enabling EchoStar to operate as a hybrid mobile network operator providing wireless service under the Boost Mobile brand.

“EchoStar and Boost Mobile have met all of the FCC’s network buildout milestones,” Ergen said in a statement. “However, this spectrum sale to AT&T and hybrid MNO agreement are critical steps toward resolving the FCC’s spectrum utilization concerns.”

AT&T CEO John Stankey told CNBC that the deal is “a win all the way around.”

“It’s a fantastic opportunity to see more services put together the way customers want to buy them together,” Stankey said in an interview on “Squawk Box.” “And as a result of that, I think ultimately regulators are going to look at this and say it’s very, very attractive.”

AT&T shares rose less than 1 percent.

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