The White House is moving to block a bill restricting the export of AI chips

According to AXIOS, four people familiar with the matter said that key White House officials are pressuring members of Congress to exclude artificial intelligence chip export restrictions to countries of concern from the annual defense policy bill. White House artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency director David Sacks has been spearheading efforts to drop the bill, and his efforts are now supported by the White House Office of Legislative Affairs, making the bill's chances of being included in defense legislation that must pass slim to none. Administration officials have been calling key lawmakers, including U.S. House Majority Leader Scalise, to tell them to oppose the bill, sources said. The bill requires chip companies to meet procurement requirements for U.S. customers before exporting to "countries of concern." It also includes certain export license exemptions for "trusted" entities. Previously, Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang successfully convinced key officials in the US government that it is beneficial for US companies to serve countries of concern. If the GAIN AI Act does not make it into the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act, Nvidia will be a big winner.