U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security extends license rules to advanced AI chips sold to Chinese-owned firms abroad, closing an enforcement gap left after the Trump administration rescinded the Biden-era AI Diffusion Rule

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) now requires licenses for sales of top-tier AI processors—including Nvidia's Rubin and Blackwell families and AMD's MI350x accelerator—to any buyer whose ultimate parent sits in China. Exporters must verify the ultimate parent of every buyer, not just the destination country.

The new guidance follows a year-long enforcement gap: the Trump administration rescinded the Biden framework before its May 2025 effective date, and industry sources say hundreds of thousands of advanced chips reached overseas Chinese-owned firms during that period, with Singapore and Malaysia among suspected routing hubs.

Nvidia reported zero Data Center Hopper shipments to China in fiscal Q1 2027, compared with $4.6 billion a year earlier, though Total Data Center revenue hit a record $75.2 billion on Blackwell 300 demand. Earlier draft rules had sent Nvidia down 1.8% and AMD down 2.2% in prior sessions.