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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, right, speaks alongside President Donald Trump about investing in America, at the White House in Washington, on April 30, 2025.

Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images

U.S. President Donald Trump has signaled that he’d be open to allowing Nvidia to sell a downgraded version of its most advanced artificial intelligence chip to China.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Trump said that he could make a deal with Nvidia if it could reduce the performance of its Blackwell system.

“It’s possible I’d make a deal” on a “somewhat enhanced — in a negative way — Blackwell” processor, Trump said. “In other words, take 30% to 50% off of it.”

Trump indicated that he will meet with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang regarding the Blackwell.

“On the Blackwell, I think he [Huang] is coming to see me again about that,” Trump said, adding that the Blackwell system is the “latest and the greatest in the world.”

Last month, Huang, who has lobbied Trump for access to the Chinese market after effectively being shut out, said he hopes to sell more advanced chips to China.

The flurry of activity around semiconductors comes after Nvidia and AMD agreed to a deal to pay the U.S. government a 15% cut of revenue from chip sales to China in exchange for export licenses. Trump said he initially asked for a 20% cut but that the number came down to 15% after Huang negotiated.

If the downgraded Blackwell chips were approved for export, it “would be a big deal going forward,” said Paul Triolo, partner and senior vice president for China at advisory firm DGA-Albright Stonebridge Group.

“The idea here is to addict China to substandard, or non-cutting edge technology, Triolo added.

Access to Nvidia's H20 won't hand China an AI advantage: Analyst

Nvidia’s Huang has often touted the idea that if China is cut off from American chips then domestic tech firms like Huawei will fill the void. He has argued that U.S. chips should be sold in China so that Chinese firms are dependent on them when developing their AI technology.

Washington’s chip export regime has evolved over the past few years. Nvidia was blocked in 2022 from exporting its A100 and H100 chips to China — chips that are crucial for training large AI models. In 2023, the U.S. placed additional export curbs on more Nvidia semiconductors.

Chinese firms stockpiled these chips and have been using them to build their AI models. These chips were acquired legally and are still being used to train models, according to Triolo.

It’s not yet clear what kind of capabilities a downgraded Blackwell system for China would have and if it would be suitable for training more advanced models. In the meantime, Huawei is continuing to develop its Ascend series of processors, which it is trying to position as an Nvidia alternative.

“We are in sort of a transition point of running out of those stockpiles of earlier acquired Nvidia GPUs and hoping that Huawei’s new Ascend series of processors will be capable of replacing those but they are not quite capable of doing that yet,” Triolo said.

“Probably next year Huawei will have a new version of its 910 processors that will be more competitive with Nvidia.”

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CoreWeave stock slumps 14% on wider-than-expected loss ahead of lockup expiration

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CoreWeave stock slumps 14% on wider-than-expected loss ahead of lockup expiration

CoreWeave sinks more than 8% on quarterly results

CoreWeave‘s stock dropped 14% after the renter of artificial intelligence data centers reported a bigger-than-expected loss.

In its second quarterly financial results as a public company, CoreWeave reported an adjusted loss of 27 cents per share, compared to a 21-cent loss per share expected by analysts polled by LSEG.

CoreWeave’s results came as the lock-up period following its initial public offering is set to expire Thursday evening and potentially add volatility to shares. The term refers to a set period of time following a market debut when insiders are restricted from selling shares.

“We remain constructive long term and are encouraged by today’s data points, but see near-term upside capped by the potential CORZ related dilution and uncertainty, and the pending lock-up expiration on Thursday,” wrote analysts at Stifel, referencing the recent acquisition of Core Scientific.

Shares of Core Scientific fell 7% Wednesday.

In the current quarter, the company projects $1.26 billion to $1.30 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by LSEG forecasted $1.25 billion. CoreWeave also lifted 2025 revenue guidance to between $5.15 billion and $5.35, up from a $4.9 billion to $5.1 billion forecast provided in May and above a $5.05 billion estimate.

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Some analysts were hoping for stronger guidance given the stock’s massive surge since going public in March. Others highlighted light capital expenditures guidance and a delay in some spending until the fourth quarter as a potential point of weakness.

“This delay in capex highlights the uncertainty around deployment time; as go-live timing is pushed, in-period revenue recognition will be smaller,” wrote analysts at Morgan Stanley.

The AI infrastructure provider said revenue more than tripled from a year ago to $1.21 billion as it continues to benefit from surging AI demand. That also surpassed a $1.08 billion forecast from Wall Street. Finance chief Nitin Agrawal also said during a call with analysts that demand outweighs supply.

The New Jersey-based company, whose customers include OpenAI, Microsoft and Nvidia, also said it has recently signed expansion deals with hyperscale customers.

CoreWeave acquired AI model monitoring startup Weights and Biases for $1.4 billion during the period and said it finished the quarter with a $30.1 billion revenue backlog.

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How Big Tech is paying its way out of Trump’s tariffs

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How Big Tech is paying its way out of Trump's tariffs

Apple CEO Tim Cook (R) shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on August 6, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Win Mcnamee | Getty Images

Top tech executives are at the forefront of a recent swathe of unprecedented deals with U.S. President Donald Trump.

In just the last few days, the White House confirmed that two U.S. chipmakers, Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, would be allowed to sell advanced chips to China in exchange for the U.S. government receiving a 15% cut of their revenues in the Asian country.

Apple CEO Tim Cook, meanwhile, recently announced plans to increase the firm’s U.S. investment commitment to $600 billion over the next four years. The move was widely seen as a bid to get the tech giant out of Trump’s crosshairs on tariffs — and appears to have worked for now.

Altogether, analysts say the deals show just how important it is for the world’s largest companies to find some tariff relief.

“The flurry of deal-making is an effort to secure lighter treatment from tariffs,” Paolo Pescatore, technology analyst at PP Foresight, told CNBC by email.

“In some shape or form, all of the big tech companies have been negatively impacted by tariffs. They can ill afford to fork out on millions of dollars in additional fees that will further dent profits as underlined by recent quarterly earnings,” Pescatore said.

While the devil will be in the detail of these agreements, Pescatore said that Apple leading the way with its accelerated U.S. investment will likely trigger “a domino effect” within the industry.

Apple, for its part, has long been regarded as one of the Big Tech firms most vulnerable to simmering trade tensions between the U.S. and China.

Earlier this month, Trump announced plans to impose a 100% tariff on imports of semiconductors and chips, albeit with an exemption for firms that are “building in the United States.”

Apple, which relies on hundreds of different chips for its devices and incurred $800 million in tariff costs in the June quarter, is among the firms exempt from the proposed tariffs.

A ‘hands-on’ approach

The Nvidia and AMD deal with the Trump administration has meanwhile sparked intense debate over the potential impact on the chip giants’ businesses and whether the U.S. government may seek out similar agreements with other firms.

Some strategists described the arrangement as a “shakedown,” while others suggested it may even be unconstitutional and comparing it to a tax on exports.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that the legality and mechanics of the 15% export tax on Nvidia and AMD were “still being ironed out.” She also hinted deals of this kind could expand to other companies in future.

Ray Wang: Having Nvidia and AMD pay 15% of China chip sales revenues to U.S. govt. is 'bizarre'

Ray Wang, founder and chairman of Constellation Research, described the Nvidia and AMD deal to pay 15% of China chip sales revenues to the U.S. government as “bizarre.”

Speaking on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday, Wang said what is “really weird” is there is still some uncertainty over whether these chips represent a national security issue.

“If the answer is no, fine OK. The government is taking a cut out of it,” Wang said. “Both Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Lisa Su at AMD both decided that OK, we’ve got a way to get our chips into China and maybe there is something good coming out of it.”

Investor concerns

While investors initially welcomed the deal as broadly positive for both Nvidia and AMD, which once more secure access to the Chinese market, Wang said some in the industry will nevertheless be concerned.

“As an investor, you’re worried because then, is this an arbitrary decision by the government? Does every president get to play kingmaker in terms of these deals?” Wang said.

“So, I think that’s really what the concern is, and we still have additional tariffs and trade deals to come from the China negotiations,” he added.

Tech investor Dan Niles says Nvidia having access to the Chinese market is 'crucial'

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Amazon launches same-day delivery of meat, eggs, produce in more than 1,000 cities

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Amazon launches same-day delivery of meat, eggs, produce in more than 1,000 cities

An independent contractor wearing a protective mask and gloves loads Amazon Prime grocery bags into a car outside a Whole Foods Market in Berkeley, California, on Oct. 7, 2020.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Amazon is rolling out same-day delivery of fresh foods to more pockets of the U.S. as it looks to encourage shoppers to add meat and eggs to their order while they’re browsing its sprawling online store.

The company announced Wednesday it’s bringing the service to more than 1,000 U.S. cities and towns, including Raleigh, North Carolina, Tampa, Florida, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with plans to reach at least 2,300 locations by the end of this year.

Amazon began testing the service in Phoenix last year and in additional cities this year, where it found shoppers frequently added strawberries, bananas, avocados and other perishables to their order.

“Many of these shoppers were first-time Amazon grocery customers who now return to shop twice as often with same-day delivery service compared to those who didn’t purchase fresh food,” the company said in a release.

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The service is free for Prime members on orders over $25 in most cities, or for a $2.99 fee if an order doesn’t meet that minimum. Shoppers without a Prime membership pay a $12.99 fee to use the service, regardless of order size.

Grocery delivery company Instacart‘s stock tumbled more than 11% following the announcement. Supermarket chains Kroger and Albertsons fell about 4% and 3%, respectively.

Shares of Walmart, which has been racing to compete with Amazon on speedy deliveries and offers same-day shipping for groceries, slipped 1%.

Amazon has been retooling its grocery business over the past few years.

The company has tweaked its chain of Fresh grocery stores in a bid to attract more shoppers, and it opened up fresh food delivery to shoppers who aren’t Prime members.

It’s also looked to highlight its growing business selling household staples like paper towels, cleaning supplies, bottled drinks and canned food.

In January, Amazon tapped Jason Buechel, the CEO of Whole Foods Market, the upscale grocer it acquired in 2017 for $13.7 billion, to lead its worldwide grocery stores business. Buechel announced in June that the company was bringing Whole Foods closer to the Amazon grocery umbrella as part of a reorganization.

Previously, Whole Foods had remained largely independent from Amazon’s own grocery offerings.

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