Speaking to Bloomberg at the Founders Forum Global event in Oxford, Haas said: “If you narrow access to technology and you force other ecosystems to grow up, it’s not good. It makes the pie smaller, if you will. And frankly, it’s not very good for consumers.”
That’s a pointed message aimed directly at Washington’s increasingly restrictive policies. The Biden administration initiated AI chip controls in 2022, blocking the export of advanced silicon, such as Nvidia’s A100 and H100, to China. By the next year, that expanded to include A800 and H800 models, watered-down versions specifically cooked up for Chinese buyers.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has been banging this drum for a while, warning that the US risks forcing China to invest more in home-grown alternatives, such as Huawei’s Ascend AI chips. Haas, whose company is rumoured to be building an AI chip this year with Meta as a launch customer, clearly agrees.
The policies have already split the world into tech tiers. Japan, Taiwan and Germany get a pass; Russia and China are locked out. Countries like India and Singapore are in a state of limbo, limited to small shipments.
The Trump administration recently scrapped some of the Biden-era restrictions, hinting at bespoke deals for different countries. However, China is still under the banhammer, and Huawei remains a top concern.
“Huawei has become quite formidable,” Haas said.
Haas said his lobbying efforts have increased as tensions between the US and China have grown.
“I’ve spent far more time in Washington in the last year and a half than I have in my entire career. The current administration has a lot of smart people who are connected to our industry, and I think we’re looking to make our voice heard.”
Huang echoed that sentiment at the Viva Technology conference in Paris, adding: “If the United States doesn’t want to partake, participate in China, Huawei has got China covered, and Huawei has got everybody else covered.”
So while the West tightens its grip on AI chips, China seems to be adapting just fine and Haas wants Washington to consider whether this technological arms race is actually worth the cost.
