Move seen as targeting semiconductor export controls on China, open-source AI regulation

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang looks toward US President Donald Trump (left) at the US-Saudi investment forum in Washington, D.C., in November last year. [Reuters]
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang looks toward US President Donald Trump (left) at the US-Saudi investment forum in Washington, D.C., in November last year. [Reuters]

Nvidia, the leading AI semiconductor company, is forming a political fundraising organization ahead of the US midterm elections.

Reuters reported Thursday (local time), citing sources, that Nvidia plans to launch a political action committee called NVPAC, funded by employee contributions.

A corporate PAC is a political fundraising vehicle that operates on voluntary employee donations of up to $5,000 per person. Corporate funds may not be used.

Money raised through a PAC can be donated directly to a specific party or candidate's campaign — unlike a super PAC, which faces no contribution limits and can accept corporate donations but cannot give directly to parties or candidates.

Nvidia's decision to launch a PAC ahead of the elections is widely seen as a response to tightening US government regulation of the AI and semiconductor industries.

Last year, Nvidia effectively lost nearly its entire Chinese market as a result of the Trump administration's semiconductor export controls on China and the intensifying US-China AI rivalry. At the time, CEO Jensen Huang criticized US semiconductor restrictions, warning that China could surpass the United States in the AI race.

More recently, as the rise of Chinese open-source AI prompted moves in the United States to regulate open-source AI models, Huang effectively led a joint industry letter arguing against such regulation.

In a disclosure filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday (local time), Nvidia also listed potential regulation of DeepSeek, Qwen and Kimi as risk factors that could affect the company's earnings.

Nvidia has been stepping up its engagement with Washington since last year — registering a federal lobbyist for the first time in March last year and, in October, holding its developer conference GTC in Washington, D.C., for the first time in the event's history.

Vice Presidents Gavin Sherry and Sundeep Madra also donated $443,000 to the Republican National Committee.


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