Days after pressure to wipe AI chip export restrictionthe Biden administration added 14 Chinese companies to its restricted trade list.
Sophgo is, perhaps, the most high-profile plugin. An entity of Bitmain, the company sparked international headlines when it was identified as an intermediary between struggling Chinese hardware giant Huawei and Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC.
Suspicions arose in December after a chip found in the Huawei Ascend 910B’s AI processor was linked to a purchase of Sophgo by TSMC. At the time, the Biden administration announced plans to blacklist the company, a promise it has now followed through on.
The move comes amid a flurry of activity during the days of the Biden administration. The response to Monday’s “Interim Final Rule on Artificial Intelligence Diffusion” prompted a swift and intense response from industry. American AI silicon giant Nvidia called the action “incorrect.”
The statement praises the first Trump administration’s handling of AI while refusing to pull any punches against the outgoing administration:
In its final days in office, the Biden administration seeks to undermine America’s leadership with a 200+ page regulatory quagmire, drafted in secret and without proper legislative review. This sweeping overreach would impose bureaucratic control over how America’s leading semiconductors, computers, systems and even software are designed and marketed worldwide. And by attempting to distort market outcomes and stifle competition — the vital source of innovation — the Biden administration’s new rule threatens to squander America’s hard-won technological edge.
Of course, the Huawei sanctions that prevented the company from using US-made technologies, including Google’s Android and Qualcomm chips, came during the first Trump administration. Exactly how this is happening is unclear, as the incoming administration looks set to continue a tough stance on China while appearing to promote American innovation amid the AI race.
