U.S. President Donald Trump and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang met at the White House on Friday to discuss DeepSeek, a Chinese company whose AI model has made a big impact in the tech world. They also held discussion on tightening restrictions on AI chip exports, according to a source familiar with the matter. 

Although Trump did not elaborate on the meeting, he referred to Huang as a "gentleman." The discussion took place on Friday afternoon as the government looks for other methods to prevent China from accessing advanced computing power and plans to further limit AI chip shipments this spring to keep it in the United States and its allies. "We appreciated the opportunity to meet with President Trump and discuss semiconductors and AI policy," an Nvidia spokesperson said in a statement. "Jensen and the President discussed the importance of strengthening US technology and AI leadership."

The meeting between the president and the CEO of the Santa Clara, California-based company that produces the most cutting-edge AI chips was arranged prior to DeepSeek upending the IT industry, according to the source with knowledge of the matter. Additionally, the source stated that the president believes the rise of the Chinese company means "US companies don't have to spend a ton of money building a low-cost (AI) alternative." The meeting was held amid growing concerns that China is closing the gap with the United States in AI development. Last week, China's DeepSeek introduced a free AI assistant that claims to operate with less data and at a much lower cost than US models.

DeepSeek quickly became the most downloaded app on Apple's App Store, raising concerns about the U.S.'s dominance in AI. This led to a major sell-off in tech stocks, wiping out around $1 trillion in value. Nvidia, a leading AI chipmaker, saw its shares drop by 17% at one point.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is considering stricter limits on Nvidia's sales of its H20 chips to China, sources told Reuters. These discussions are still in the early stages but have been under consideration since Biden's presidency. The H20 chips, designed to comply with existing U.S. restrictions, are used to run AI software. Two US lawmakers, Republican John Moolenaar and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, are pushing for stricter export controls on Nvidia’s AI chips. They want the Commerce and State Departments to review the US export control system, following an order initially issued by Trump to assess policies related to strategic adversaries. 

In 2022, the Biden administration restricted sales of Nvidia’s most advanced AI chip, the H100, to China. In response, Nvidia created a slightly less powerful version, the H800, which met export limits. However, the H800 was also restricted in 2023, leading Nvidia to develop the H20, which was introduced last year.

The US Commerce Department is investigating whether DeepSeek has been using US semiconductors that are prohibited from being sent to China, according to a Reuters story on Thursday.