'From 95% to 0%': Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Sounds Alarm Over US Tech Sanctions on China

In a stunning confession that has sent shockwaves through the tech world, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has revealed that his company's once-dominant market share in China has plunged from around 95% to zero.

Speaking in a recent interview with Citadel Securities, Huang said U.S. export restrictions have effectively erased Nvidia's presence in one of the world's largest technology markets — a collapse he warned could backfire on America's own strategic ambitions.

When Sanctions Backfire

What began as a U.S. push to curb China's access to advanced chips may now be undermining its own technological edge. Huang cautioned that Washington's aggressive trade policies risk inflicting more harm on American innovation than on its intended target.

'Before we leap towards policies that are hurtful to other people, take a step back and maybe reflect on what are the policies that are helpful to America,' he said, calling for a more measured, cooperative approach to technology regulation.

The Nvidia chief noted that nearly half of the world's AI researchers are based in China, warning that isolating them could weaken U.S. leadership in the global AI ecosystem.

Huang's most startling admission was blunt: Nvidia now considers China 'essentially closed.' He added, 'We went from 95% market share to 0%, and so I can't imagine any policymaker thinking that's a good idea — that whatever policy we implemented caused America to lose one of the largest markets in the world.'

Billion-Dollar Rift

According to Tom's Hardware, China once accounted for 20% to 25% of Nvidia's data-centre revenue. That stream has now run dry. Nvidia's latest forecasts assign 'zero' revenue from China going forward. Huang admitted that if any business does occur there, it will be treated merely as a 'bonus' — not part of its financial expectations.

The reversal comes amid an increasingly tangled web of U.S. export controls designed to restrict China's access to advanced AI chips.

The initial sanctions, imposed in 2022, barred the sale of Nvidia's most powerful processors to Chinese firms.

Nvidia responded by designing a new line of lower-performance, export-compliant chips tailored to Beijing's regulations.

But even that workaround has since stalled as Chinese authorities reportedly discouraged state-linked buyers from purchasing the modified products, according to the South China Morning Post.

Strategic Blind Spot

For Huang, the fallout is not just financial — it's geopolitical. He warned that the United States could lose its dominance in artificial intelligence if it cuts China out of the innovation loop entirely.

'AI is not developed by one country alone,' analysts noted. 'By isolating China, the U.S. risks accelerating the very competition it seeks to contain.'

As the semiconductor race intensifies, supply chains are redrawing themselves across Asia and the Middle East, with China investing heavily to fill the technological void left by American companies. The more Washington tightens restrictions, the faster Beijing builds its self-reliant chip ecosystem.

Huang's remarks highlight a growing unease among U.S. tech leaders, many of whom now face a stark dilemma: balancing national security directives with commercial realities. As he put it, policies intended to protect American innovation could instead be driving it further away.