Chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) is close to a major win in Washington after U.S. lawmakers decided not to include a proposed measure in the upcoming defense bill that would have restricted the company’s ability to sell advanced AI chips to China and other adversarial countries. The proposal, known as the GAIN AI Act, would have required chipmakers like Nvidia and AMD (AMD) to offer their most powerful AI chips to U.S. customers first before selling them abroad.
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Although the defense bill could still change before its release on Friday, a source familiar with the situation told Bloomberg that the measure is not currently part of it. The move follows a tense lobbying battle between national security advocates and AI chip companies. Nvidia argued that the law would hurt its ability to compete globally and said it was already meeting demand from U.S. customers. As part of its push, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang visited Capitol Hill on Wednesday and told reporters he was there to “answer questions about AI.”
The debate comes as the White House is deciding whether to allow exports of Nvidia’s H200 chip, which is considered more powerful than any AI chip currently produced in China and already requires a license to export. Even though the GAIN AI Act didn’t make it into the defense bill, lawmakers who support stricter limits on AI chip exports to China are not backing down. They worry that Beijing could use U.S. AI chips to boost its military and economic power. A new bill, called the SAFE Act, is already being drafted to formally establish current export restrictions.
What Is a Good Price for NVDA?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on NVDA stock based on 39 Buys, one Hold, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average NVDA price target of $258.10 per share implies 42.8% upside potential.
