Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei reiterated his position on the sale of Nvidia Corp’s (NASDAQ: NVDA) chips to China, citing national security concerns.
Amodei Firm On China AI concerns
Amodei’s comments came during an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin, during the New York Times Dealbook summit on Wednesday.
The CEO highlighted the potential national security implications of selling these chips to China, expressing concerns about the country’s ability to outsmart the U.S. in various aspects, including intelligence, defense, and economic value. He emphasized that his stance remains unchanged despite the recent partnership with Nvidia.
Amodei said, “My view hasn’t changed.” He expressed immense respect for CEO Jensen Huang and added, “This isn’t personal. This is a policy question…”
The CEO stressed the need for democracies to maintain a leading position in the development of advanced AI capabilities, asserting that selling chips to China would only increase the likelihood of them gaining a competitive edge in this critical area.
Nvidia’s Mounting China Woes
Amodei’s comments come at a crucial time for Nvidia, which is facing increased scrutiny over its business in China. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators recently proposed the Secure and Feasible Exports Chips Act, which would restrict Nvidia from selling its high-end processors to China for 30 months.
According to Reuters, President Donald Trump met CEO Jensen Huang and praised him for understanding the president’s stance on export controls. “Smart man,” Trump reportedly referred to Huang.
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Anthropic-Nvidia’s Changing Equation
Meanwhile, Anthropic, backed by Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) has an interesting relationship with Nvidia. In the past, the CEOs of both companies have objected to each other’s views on several issues.
Amodei dismissed Huang's claims that he's trying to dominate or slow the AI industry, calling the accusation "the most outrageous lie I've ever heard." Speaking on the Big Technology Podcast in August, Amodei said he's frustrated by being labeled a "doomer" and insisted he is not attempting to impede AI progress.
However, in November, Nvidia entered into a strategic partnership with Anthropic and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), involving a combined $15 billion investment in the AI startup. Huang even went on to say that Anthropic has "revolutionized" agentic AI with its advancements in model context protocols and code-generation systems.