Nvidia CEO Says $200 Billion CPU Market Forecast Includes China

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Saturday that his company's projection of a $200 billion market for central processing units encompasses China, signaling that Nvidia views the country as a meaningful long-term opportunity even as U.S.-China technology tensions continue to complicate access.

Speaking to reporters upon arrival at Taipei's Songshan airport, Huang was asked whether the CPU market forecast he had outlined days earlier included China. "I would think so," he said.

The comments follow remarks Huang made during Nvidia's earnings call on Wednesday, where he introduced the company's new "Vera" central processors and described them as opening access to what he characterized as a $200 billion addressable market. CPUs have drawn renewed attention as companies shift toward agentic AI — systems capable of performing autonomous functions — broadening demand beyond the graphics processing units used to train large AI models.

On Wednesday, Huang also sought to reassure investors that Nvidia could sustain its growth trajectory, pointing to a broad customer base and new products as factors that would help it surpass the $1 trillion in sales it has forecast for its flagship AI chips.

The question of China's inclusion in that CPU outlook is particularly sensitive given the current state of U.S. export controls. Nvidia has received licenses from the U.S. government to sell its H200 chips — the company's second-most powerful AI chip — but Chinese regulatory approval has not followed. A U.S.-China summit in Beijing earlier this month involving President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping produced no immediate breakthrough on the H200 issue.

The U.S. has cleared roughly 10 Chinese firms to purchase H200 chips, according to a report from last week, but no deliveries have been completed. "H200 has been licensed to ship to China. It would be terrific to be able to serve that market. The Chinese market is very important. It's very large, of course," Huang said at Songshan airport.

Huang is in Taipei ahead of next month's Computex trade show and said he plans to meet with TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, during his visit. He also confirmed that Nvidia is ramping production of its Vera Rubin platform — which combines the company's Vera CPU and Rubin GPU architectures — describing a "very busy second half" ahead for Taiwan's supply chain.

Asked whether Nvidia had made investments in Taiwan's supply chain comparable to AMD's announcement Thursday of more than $10 billion in Taiwanese AI sector commitments, Huang said: "We haven't announced anything in the past, but we've invested in and supported our partners here far more than that."

The visit also came amid scrutiny over chip diversion. Taiwanese prosecutors said Thursday they were investigating three individuals suspected of illegally exporting high-end AI servers from Super Micro that contained Nvidia chips subject to U.S. export controls. When asked what Nvidia could do to prevent such diversions, Huang said the company was "very rigorous" in explaining applicable laws and regulations to partners and requiring compliance. "Ultimately, Super Micro has to run their own company," he said. "I hope that they will enhance and improve their regulation compliance and avoid that from happening in the future."

In March, the U.S. Justice Department charged three individuals connected to Super Micro, including a co-founder, with helping smuggle at least $2.5 billion in U.S. AI technology to China in violation of export laws.

How quickly Nvidia can convert its CPU market forecast into realized China revenue will depend heavily on whether diplomatic and regulatory conditions shift — a variable that has so far moved slowly despite high-level engagement between Washington and Beijing.

Disclaimer